Scent of Your Destiny: Blood Moon
by Andrew Hildreth
Summary: All new story. Sequel to Scent of Your Destiny. Another Andrew Hildreth adventure. On hold until further notice.
1. Chapter 1

Scent of Your Destiny: Blood Moon

Chapter I

My name is Andrew. I suppose the most unusual thing about me is the fact that I haven't ever had a suntan, and I'm now over two hundred years old. Did you catch the clue there? I'm not human; not pure human, anyway. I'm a dhampir; a vampire half-breed. My father was human, and he really loved my mother, even though he knew she might kill him at any moment. I never understood why she didn't, no matter how old I got.

Anyway, I'm a halfling. I have mostly vampire qualities thanks to mom. I can see perfectly I the dark, hear for a mile, track like a bloodhound, lift a hundred times my own weight, and jump like I'm in zero gravity. The only real drawbacks to being what I am are the facts that I burn like an albino in the sun (and too much exposure will actually kill me), I don't have a reflection in a mirror, I can't touch crosses or holy water, and I'm horribly allergic to garlic. Seriously, dad almost killed me by accident once when I was little when he fed me a piece of garlic toast. My throat swelled shut and mom had to cut herself to save me.

Blood. That's what you're all wondering about, isn't it? Do I drink blood like my mother? Well, the answer to that particular question is yes. I _do_ drink blood, but I don't have to drink _all_ the time, and I don't do it on a whim. That's the human in me. I only need to drink when I am injured or sick. Other than those times, the thirst is totally under my control.

After my father died (of old age, of all things), mother and I had a bit of a falling out and I left to make my own way in the world. At that point, the Americas were the "in" place to go; a newly independent nation, freedoms never before dreamt of. It all sounded deliciously appealing to me. So, I chartered a boat, packed my bags, and left my old country behind.

One and a half centuries passed. I moved around the country a lot. I could never stay in one town for more than about ten years. After that, people would begin to get suspicious about why my appearance wasn't changing. As a matter of fact, one of my favorite slip-ups was during my early years in America. I was living in Southern Louisiana towards the middle of the Nineteenth Century, and I had been living in one particular town for nearly twelve years. The neighbors, suspecting witchcraft or devil-worship, beat down my door, dragged me out into the street and lynched me. They eventually hung me from a tall oak tree. Now, given that I don't need to breathe, I had to restrain the urge to laugh. However, I put on a good show for their egos. I flopped and gasped like a fish out of water, and then I hung limply. Believing me dead, the crowd dispersed, except for one man. I waited until he turned his back. Then, I snapped the ropes on my hands and around my neck and dropped to the ground. The soft tissue of my throat was damaged in the hanging. I killed the man and drank him dry, using the power in his blood to heal my damaged body. I felt only slight remorse at his passing, as his death was necessary for me to continue existing. After that, though, I was more cautious about moving around regularly.

Now, it's the dawn of the 21st Century and I'm living in Los Angeles. I sensed something very strange upon entering the city limits. It felt like another strong vampire, but he or she was different, like me; perhaps not a dhampir, but different, nonetheless.

I first had to establish a lair for myself. I invested in a low-rent, rat-infested cellar of a tenement building. The landlord was a prick, and the only other tenant was a crack-head, but my room had a lock on the door, and no windows. It would suffice.

I struck out that night to sample the city after dark. I saw hookers on every street corner; some of them were even vampires, hoping to ensnare a fresh kill. I went to three different bars and clubs. I got tossed out of the first strip club I was at for grabbing one of the dancers' asses. At the second, some drunken asshole kept getting in my face and calling me a faggot. After an hour of this, no matter where in the bar I moved to avoid him, I had finally had enough. So, I decked the loudmouth. Given that I've got super strength, he crumpled like a house of cards. Well, all of his drunken buddies saw me take him down, and charged me en masse. A brawl ensued that would have made Custer's Last Stand look like a pillow fight. Well, needless to say, the bouncers "escorted" us out. Rather, I allowed them to throw me out.

The third place I ended up in was probably the last place in the city I should have ever gone. I ended up in a Blood Bank; a bar for vampires. At this place, if you order a Bloody Mary, then ask whether you want O-positive or O-negative. I call it the last place I should have ever gone because, whenever I end up around full vamps, trouble always seems to follow quickly. And, of course, this leads to a few fresh piles of dust on the ground. I often wonder why I hate vampires the way I do. Is it because of how much I dislike my mother? Is it because I'm only a halfling? Is it for some other, more obscure reason? I just couldn't say.

Meanwhile, there I was, surrounded by blood-suckers. Most of them ignored me, sipping on their glasses of blood. The ones that noticed me contented themselves, for the most part, to glare at me with venom in their eyes. None of them came near me, until one undead jackass broke the stalemate.

"Get that halfling scum out of here!" he shouted, pointing at me, "He's gonna give the place a bad name! He's no better than a human!"

I was silent. I merely stared calmly at him. This angered him further and he raised the level of his taunts and insults trying everything from insulting my human father to insulting my mother to get a rise out of me. Eventually his lack of success riled him to the point that he lunged across the room at me, spurring me to fight. I planted my foot against my assailant's chest and pushed off. He was sent backwards into a table while I was catapulted into the air. Laying back, I tucked into a flip and landed at the far end of the room. Being a vampire-friendly establishment, all of the furniture in the room was either metal or plastic. Fortunately, I always carry a sharpened, wooden stake in my coat pocket. I started carrying it after I had a bout of deep depression back in the early part of the 20th Century. I had considered dusting myself and ending my agony. So, I made the stake and actually had it ready in my hand when, all of a sudden, the dark cloud over my head lifted and I felt content with my immortal life again. Since then, I've carried the stake as a reminder of how easy it might be for me to end my own life.

Now, however, I produced the stake in defense of my life. Snarling hideously, the vampire hurled himself at me, sending us both through one of the blacked-out windows. We fought, even though I knew he had no chance of beating me. Eventually my stake pierced his heart and, with a scream, he crumbled to dust.

I didn't stick around long enough for any other blood-suckers to get brave enough to give me problems. I ducked out of the alley and into the brightening streets. I figured I had less than thirty minutes until sunrise, and I also knew that the doorway of my apartment building faced west and that there was a man-hole access within five yards of that door. I ducked down through a storm drain and into the sewers.

My sensitive nose was instantly assaulted by a rank combination of stenches ranging from anything like rotten garbage to dead animals and raw sewage. Slime and mold coated every solid surface down there. My supernaturally sharp ears detected the scurrying of thousands of vermin.

I had known the smell of blood for my whole life. I had drunk gallons of it. But now, my nose detected something unfamiliar. Forgetting about returning to my apartment, I followed my nose down into the deeper tunnels.

Long minutes later, I came to a large antechamber. It looked almost like an old fallout shelter from them Cold War era. There were several large, wooden crates. Some of them had been smashed, as though in a fight of some kind. And then, I saw the bodies.

They weren't human; not by a long shot. They looked rather like overgrown lizards. They had thick, scaly skin, long, sharp claws, and fang-like daggers for teeth. However, I noted that these…things…had been completely torn to pieces by something. Whatever that "something" had been was surely of equal or larger stature to these giant reptiles, had similar armaments, and a fantastic amount of brutality and bloodthirstiness.

Examining one of the mutilated corpses more closely, I discovered several tufts of hair trapped in its teeth. Obviously, it had bitten whatever had killed it. Gingerly, I plucked one of these tufts out of its teeth and looked at it closely.

The hair was of a dark brown coloration. Its texture was very heavy and coarse; not so much as a bear, but more like a large dog. I held the hairs up to my nose and sniffed deeply. The scent on them was old; possibly as much as six months or more. It was also thickly covered by the stench of decay. However, the scent was still there:

"Werewolf…" I growled aloud.

Mother had told me all about werewolves when I was young. They were brutes; unrefined, uncivilized, barbaric creatures that I was encouraged to kill wherever found. However, I also had to beware of them. If a werewolf bit me, its venom would turn my body to dust. We were immortal enemies, our two races, and yet we also shared a common enemy: humans. They hunted us both equally.

If there was a werewolf in this city, there was a strong possibility that there could be more than one. Hell, there could be a whole, damned colony of those overgrown hairballs in the city. I needed to get my hands on a gun and some silver ammunition as soon as possible. After that…it would be open season.

I took the rest of the day to scour the tunnels, looking for signs of werewolf activity. I noticed, as I followed the tunnels out of the city limits, the scent of werewolf drifting down through the drains and grates was getting stronger. From the sounds coming down from overhead, I guessed that I was now somewhere in the suburbs.

I looked at my watch; five minutes to sundown. I checked my coat for available weapons. I had only my stake and a butterfly knife; effective against humans and vampires, but not very much help against a half-ton behemoth. This outing would have to be kept strictly reconnaissance.

Five minutes later, I cautiously emerged from the sewer tunnels. I was in a small, cul-de-sac neighborhood of about ten houses. My nose pointed me in the direction of a large, white, two-story house with decorative shutters and door framing. If I ended up having to, I could break into the house and investigate more closely what was inside. That was one of my other favorite things about being a halfling: I could enter dwellings without having to be invited. Whenever mother and I used to go visit humans, when we first arrived, I was to go in first and invite her to follow me. We called it "protocol", but really all it did was provide a way for mother to disguise the fact that she was a vampire.

Carefully, I crept around the house and scoped out the adjoining grounds. The backyard was large, with an enormous in-ground swimming pool and hot-tub house. I noticed a balcony. That seemed like the most logical place for me to enter unnoticed. It looked like it was about 40 feet straight up to the railing; an easy jump. I squatted and sprang. Catching the stone railing, I hurdled it and landed silently on the balcony. That was another perk of my vampire lineage: I can be absolutely silent when I choose to be. I have no natural heartbeat, and I don't need to breathe. As a halfling, I can simulate a pulse with the proper amount of concentration. Pure vampires cannot do this.

I peered through the glass balcony door and observed the bedroom within. There was obviously a young man who lived here, judging by the masculine decorum. In the middle of the room, there was a massive, four-poster, California King-size bed. I found the door unlocked, but, upon closer inspection, I noticed that the door was wired. Whoever owned this house had the sense to install a home security system. Unfortunately for them, I knew how to circumvent all but the most cutting-edge systems.

However, I chose to ignore that and continue an observation from my vantage point. That is, until I heard something very interesting. Quickly and quietly circumventing the security circuits, I snuck into the room. The interesting sounds appeared to be coming from a couple of rooms down the hall. I ducked out into the plush hallway and crept closer. As I neared a door, I smelled five or six men. From the amount of gun oil I smelled on them, they were all fairly heavily armed. And then, I smelled the plastic explosive. Whoever these guys were, they weren't fooling around. I heard them talking.

"So…why are the Council letting the woman live? I mean, what was the point to kidnapping her if they were just going to put her right back a few hours later?"

"I hear you, buddy," another replied, "It seems like an awful waste of time and effort just to trap one, stinkin' werewolf."

_So,_ I thought, _These fools either fancy themselves hunters, or they __work__ for hunters. How interesting…_

"Hey guys," said a third man, "Since she's still knocked out from the tranq we shot her with, who's up for some free pussy?"

"Dude, you're sick!" laughed a fourth, "Fucking an unconscious chick? That's just…"

"Hey, at least she won't struggle," said the one who presented the idea. I heard a rattling sound; presumably he was loosening his clothes.

I had heard enough. I didn't know this woman, and I didn't care to know her, but I wasn't going to stand by and let them rape her while she wasn't even awake to try and defend herself. I burst into the room, growling and hissing for dramatic effect. My fangs, normally the length of average human canines, had lengthened by about an inch and were now quite pronounced.

At my intrusion, the six troops looked up. Four of them, including the would-be rapist, blanched with shock and terror at my appearance. One of them, finding his spine, pulled a pistol from his belt holster and emptied the clip into me. The shots hurt; a lot. However, all that pain really did was make me angry. I leapt on the gunner and snapped his neck. The snapping sound jolted his comrades out of their trances, and the room became chaos. I had to be careful and quick. There could be no traces of my presence in this place.

Despite how much it hurt, I caught all shots fired in my body. I didn't dare allow bullet holes to appear in the walls. I bludgeoned each of the troops to death; all except one. That one, I merely knocked unconscious. I needed blood, and he would provide plenty of it for me. Once I had neutralized all of the troops, I picked up all of the spent shells and pocketed them. Next, I slung two of the dead troops over my shoulders and carried them out of the house and down into the sewers. Two trips later, I dumped all five dead bodies in a large drain and carried my dinner back to the city.

He screamed. Like a little girl, he screamed. He begged for mercy, too. It was actually kind of pathetic. This man, once a cocky, would-be rapist, was now a sniveling, pitiful worm. Out of sadistic pleasure, I toyed with him for nearly an hour. However, the thirst clawed at my throat, demanding satiation. Seizing my victim, I sank my fangs into his neck.

I actually groaned with pleasure and relief as I felt the sweet, warm, salty liquid caress my tongue and throat. My pulse began to pound of its own volition as the fresh blood filled my belly. An anti-coagulant in my saliva kept the blood flowing as I drank.

My victim struggled at first. But my fangs had pierced his jugular vein. He stopped struggling and passed out after a minute or so. Another minute later, and I had drunk him dry. I threw back my head and cried out with ecstatic relief.

Almost immediately, I felt my body beginning to mend. The bullets all ejected themselves back out of their entry wounds. After the last scrap of metal had been ejected, the wounds closed and disappeared. I stretched, yawned, and looked at my clock's cracked face. It was only just past midnight.

"Well," I remarked conversationally, looking at the corpse of my victim, "the night is still young. Perhaps I will take your pistol and get some silver bullets made. What do you think?"

Of course, I received no reply. He was dead and I hadn't sired him as a new vampire. He would not rise again. I pulled off his gun belt and clip holster and examined my find. I was impressed. This guy was packing a desert eagle and six high-capacity magazines. The first three clips, including the one in the gun, all sported standard hollow-point rounds. The final three clips threw me for a bit of a loop. This guy was actually packing silver ammunition. He really _did_work for werewolf hunters!

_How lucky,_ I thought, _I don't have to waste the time and expense of getting any ammunition made. Hmm…I wonder…_

Picking up the soldier's dead body, I snuck back out of the building and down to the sewer tunnels. I found my way back to the drain where I had dumped the other bodies. Since the drain systems had not yet been flushed, they were right where I left them. I picked my way through all of their clothes, weapons and equipment. Each of them had a desert eagle for a sidearm, and ALL of them had several clips of silver rounds for their pistols. I took a second pistol, and another holster. These, I strapped on under my trench coat. All of the clips that wouldn't fit in carrying sleeves in the holsters, I pocketed.

"Now I'm ready…" I muttered.

**A.N.: Merry Christmas, readers! Guess who's back in action! I've finally got a workable plot for not just a sequel to my wildly successful "Scent of Your Destiny", I've also got what I think is a workable plot for a story featuring a vampire main character! I'm excited about this. Really. I am. It's good to be back, and I hope you'll be patient with me as I write this stuff out. The first chapters are usually kind of boring, right?**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter II

I spent the next three days familiarizing myself with the layout of the subterranean tunnels that honeycombed under the streets. On the fourth evening's sunset, I dropped back into the tunnels and retraced my steps out to the suburbs. Emerging onto the dark streets, I crept back to the house I had visited a few nights before. I leapt back up to the balcony and prepared to once again bypass the security system. I stopped just short of opening the door when I smelled people. They were in the room I was about to enter, they were sleeping, and one of them was the werewolf I was looking for. As quietly as I could, I chambered a round in one of my pistols and released the safety.

Unfortunately, I wasn't silent enough. The boy in the bed sat bolt upright, whipped his head around and saw me with the pistol in my hand. With a throaty snarl, I watched him do two things. One, he hurled himself out of bed, disturbing the two women who were sleeping with him. As he came dashing towards me, I watched him do the second thing: he transformed into a monstrous, hairy creature; a werewolf.

With an angry howl, the werewolf came barreling through the glass door and plowed right into me, driving us both off the balcony. We landed in the yard; with me on the bottom of the heap, unfortunately. Stunned, both from the landing and the 800-odd pounds of animal on top of me, I couldn't react fast enough to prevent him from seizing me by the throat. I just assumed he'd kill me and be done with it. But the damndest thing; he spoke! I had been hunting and fighting werewolves for most of my 200-plus years, and I had never heard one speak while transformed.

"_Why can't you just leave me alone!_" he demanded, "_I'm __tired__ of being hunted by you Council goons! Leave me __alone__!"_

"What—ack!—are you talking about?" I choked, "I don't work—ack!—for the Council!"

I knew of the Council of which the werewolf spoke; the Council of Moonwatchers. They were a cult of fanatical hunters who had a serious hate-on for creatures of the night; werewolves especially. I couldn't understand quite why. Yes, werewolves were dangerous creatures that were a pestilence upon the world. But even so, there were far worse things than werewolves that haunted the night.

"_Liar!_" the wolf snarled, "_I can __smell__ them on you!_"

"You smell what's left of them on me," I countered. This made him pause. I felt his iron grip loosen ever so slightly. It wasn't nearly enough for me to escape, however. I had to keep him talking until he would loosen up enough for me to break loose and flee or fight.

"I killed some of them a few nights ago," I continued, "I was here. They were trying to set a trap for you."

"_You don't know me,_" the werewolf growled, "_I don't know __you__. Why would you help me?_"

"I wasn't doing it to help you," I said, "I was doing it to help the woman."

Again, I knew I had shocked my attacker. He loosened his grip another notch. A little more, I thought, and I would be able to free myself. I had to make him trust me a little more.

"_What do you mean?_"

"Six armed men brought her in," I recalled, "I heard them preparing to rape her, and I stopped them. I killed them."

"_You're carrying one of their guns._"

"So that automatically makes me one of them?" I demanded, "Use your head. I took the gun off of a corpse."

"_How do you I know you're telling the truth?_" the werewolf demanded.

"How do you know I'm not?" I countered.

There was a lengthy pause.

"_Show me the bodies._"

"If the drains haven't been flushed, I would be more than glad to show you," I replied, "However, in order for me to do that, you're going to have to let me up."

"_Throw your pistol away,_" the werewolf growled, "_and keep your __other__ one __in__ its holster._"

_Damn,_ I growled mentally, _he must have smelled it._

Reluctantly, I threw my pistol to the far side of the yard. Only after it was out of my reach did my attacker release his grip on my throat. I rolled clear and back to my feet. I glanced over at where my pistol lay in the grass. My left hand twitched involuntarily, as though wanting to go for my other gun.

"_Try it, and you'll be dead before you draw,_" the wolf growled.

"Force of habit," I muttered, "You want to see the bodies or not?"

"_Lead the way,_" he growled, "_Be warned, though: I can smell a trap._"

"No tricks," I assured him.

_He's fast and powerful,_ I thought, _He's also exceedingly __trusting__. This could make him much easier to manipulate._

My companion and I dropped back into the sewer tunnels. I heard his grunt-like breathing behind me and felt my skin crawl, despite my attempts to control it. This creature's bite was lethal, and so was its nature; and here I was, walking in front of it in a very vulnerable position. We turned the final corner to where I had stashed the soldiers' corpses.

…Except there weren't any corpses.

_Shit,_ I grumbled mentally, _the drains must have __just__ been flushed. This could make things difficult…_

"They were right here," I said aloud.

I heard the werewolf sniffing. I watched him explore an area of about ten feet square, sniffing every inch of it. He seemed to be trying to determine if I was lying. After about five minutes of scenting every surface, he came back over to me.

"_You're a lucky man_," said he, "_Even through the sewer sludge, I can smell the traces of their corpses. I guess you weren't lying. Still…I have to wonder how you just __happened__ to be at my house at __just__ the right time to save her._"

"Do you want the honest truth?" I asked, turning my back and crossing my arms. I tensed, preparing my next move.

"_Absolutely_," he replied.

With lightning speed, I drew my second pistol and brought it to bear on the werewolf. He crouched, preparing to spring. We stared hard at each other.

"_You'll be dead before you can pull that trigger_," he growled, "_Drop it. Now._"

"Not a chance," I growled back, "Now duck!"

I squeezed the trigger twice. Two loud bangs echoed in the tunnel. As promised, the werewolf ducked out of the way and my shots missed the hairy behemoth; but I wasn't aiming for him. There was a loud shrieking sound as a gigantic rat-creature dropped from the nest of pipes running along the ceiling. I had sensed it following us, and smelled it a second after I had thought the soldiers' corpses had been washed away. This creature had obviously dragged them off, probably to devour them. Surprised by my attack, both silver bullets had struck the rat-creature squarely in the chest. It writhed and squealed. Then, it died.

"As I thought," I muttered, walking over to where it lay.

"_What was that?_"

"You're welcome," I said scornfully.

"_I doubt it could have hurt me much_," the werewolf scoffed, "_I've proven that I'm pretty tough to kill._"

"If you're talking about just now, I was aiming at the were-rat," I countered, "You don't want me to prove that I can hit you. It seems like you've got a nice little harem to go home to. You planning on turning them, too?"

"_How dare you!_" he snarled indignantly, "_I __love__ those women! I would __never__ curse them with this!_"

_Yeah. __Sure__ you wouldn't, werewolf,_ I thought sarcastically.

I turned and walked back towards the suburbs.

"_Where do you think __you're__ going?_"

"To get my other gun."

Fifteen minutes later, I picked up my other desert eagle. The werewolf and his two women, both now in bed robes, stood watching me. He, of course, stood between me and them and glared menacingly at me the whole time. I wasn't impressed or intimidated. Calmly and smoothly, I holstered the other gun.

"_All right_," the wolf growled, "_You've got what you came back for, now leave. And don't let me see you around here again. If I see you again, I promise you that I will __kill__ you._"

"I'll be seeing you," I said calmly, "You won't see me."

"_We'll see about that._"

I walked coolly past the trio, bound for the front of the house. I was a little bit more than a block down the street when I head footfalls approaching from behind me. They were quiet; probably someone who had experience in tailing people, but not people with super-hearing. I stopped walking, and I heard the follower's footsteps do the same.

"What do you want?" I demanded, not turning around.

"I'm not looking for trouble," came a female's voice.

"Then why were you trying to sneak up on me?" I demanded, turning.

The girl whom I beheld was quite striking, to say the least. I had just seen her, of course. She was at the werewolf's dwelling; the younger of the two women. She looked to be no older than seventeen or eighteen years old, with ice-blue hair, dusky red eyes, and porcelain skin. She seemed…unusual to me and yet, at the same time, completely familiar. And then it hit me: this girl had vampire blood in her!

_But…why didn't I sense it before?_ I wondered, _unless…unless she might be the __child__ of a dhampir! Twice diluted vampire lineage; it might explain how she can tolerate being around that __werewolf__…_

"Look, I just wanted to talk," she said.

"So talk."

"I—I just…had some questions," she stammered. I guess she didn't expect me to want to talk.

"Umm…who are you?"

"Ah…how original…" I mused quietly, "My name is Andrew. And…yours…?"

"I'm—"

"_Rei! Get away from him!_"

The werewolf came galloping out of the house. Rei actually rolled her eyes and groaned a little. Then, she turned quickly and looked at me.

"I'm so sorry about him," she said quickly, "He's a little protective sometimes. I'd better go. Can we meet tomorrow? Where can I find you?"

"Don't worry. I'll be around," I said quietly. Then, I turned and jogged off down the street.

Back in my apartment, I spent most of the next day-cycle practically obsessing over this strange girl. I was sure of what she was. She was like me, except more human. She was the child of a halfling and a human. Her face floated before my vision, even when I tried shutting my eyes. In my meditations, too, she intruded. So, in an effort to stave off madness, I changed my method of meditation. Instead of trying to focus my attention away from her, I focused on her, using her as my center.

When I began doing that…oh, boy did weird stuff begin happening! I felt myself melting away. I was joining minds; actually making myself a part of this girl's thoughts. I could hear them in my head; vampire telepathy. This feat, this mind link, isn't something that dhampir can normally even accomplish, let alone with a near-human mix that they hardly know. Even vampires find the link difficult to forge with one another; and even more difficult to maintain. Mother and I once shared such a link. I severed it when I left home.

Anyway, I could hear her thoughts…sort of. It wasn't like I was watching them on TV or listening to them being broadcast over a radio. I was sensing more…feelings; images. And the subject of most of these images was me, oddly enough. She was thinking about me just as hard as I was about her; maybe even a little bit harder.

Even though it was still daylight out, I knew that I could get away with going out as long as I covered up correctly. I pulled on my long, black trench coat, a dark, wide-brimmed fedora, and gloves to cover my hands. Vestments in place, I stepped out of my door and into the afternoon streets. My mind-link with Rei revealed that she was by a small pond somewhere in the city's central park area.

I'd almost forgotten how much I loathed the hustle and bustle of diurnal life. There were so many people jammed onto the sidewalks and streets that I felt like, if I needed to, I would barely be able to breathe! However, as I didn't need to breathe, I just had to deal with the jostling crowd of humans. They just…annoyed me; always darting about like gnats, and just as short-lived (compared to me).

Thirty sweaty, sweltering minutes later (I'd almost forgotten how warm it got during the day), I arrived in the park. The shade from the many trees was a welcome relief, and I removed my hat. As I looked at a map kiosk, I noted that all of the trails looped back on themselves. So, that meant that my quarry was somewhere off the beaten path. Picking my way silently through the trees and undergrowth, I started exploring the deeper, darker portions of the park.

I heard the trickling sound of a small brook. Running water like that either originates from, or terminates at a body of water like what I was looking for. Now I had to decide if she went upstream or downstream. I knew where I would go, if I were looking for a hiding place. I'd go downstream, to mask my scent trail. I decided to trust my instincts and turned downstream.

The brook broadened slightly as it came to a gap in the tree line. I stopped short of the clearing and saw dappled sunlight glinting off of a small pond in an otherwise deeply shadowed grotto. The brook tumbled into the pond over a small rocky overhang. I very much admired this girl's taste in hideaways. I concealed myself among the trees and spied out the rest of the grotto.

The pond was filled with turtles and koi fish. Around the pond sat several large, mossy boulders. On one such boulder, in a cross-legged style, sat the object of my search. She seemed to be deep in meditation and totally unaware that she was being watched. With the utmost of stealth, I leaped up into the trees and climbed through the branches until I was over top of her rock. From there, I took a small pebble and dropped it towards the water. I was shocked when her hand shot out from her lap and caught it, almost as though she could hear it falling.

"I know you're up there," I heard her say, "I could feel you getting closer. How did you find me?"

"The same way you knew I was up here," I replied dropping down next to her, "I could feel where you were, sort of. I wasn't aware that you could sense me, too."

"I've been trained in the Art of Ninjitsu," Rei said, "A ninja is always aware of his surroundings—"

"—and how best to use them to his advantage."

"How did you know that?" she demanded.

"I, too, am a student of the School of Shadow," I replied calmly, "But I was trained by the old Masters of the Far East."

"But the Art has been dead in the Far East for nearly—"

"—a century," I finished, "Yes. That actually betrays how old I really am. I am nearly two hundred and thirty years old."

"But you look so--! You—can't be human!" Rei gaped.

"Ah, but that's where you're wrong, my dear," I chuckled, "I am human. Well…half human, anyway. I am dhampir. My father was human, but my mother…was nosferatu; a vampire."

"You're…a vampire?"

"No, I am a dhampir," I corrected, "I'm half human, and have only some of my mother's vampire traits. However, since she is a vampire, I do not possess all of my father's purely human qualities, either. I'm somewhere in the middle."

"You…drink blood…?" Rei asked cautiously.

"Yes," I answered plainly, "I do. It's not a compulsion for me, like for vampires, but I do drink. However, I will often go several weeks without drinking."

"If you can wait so long between drinks, why drink at all?"

"If I am injured, blood helps me heal," I replied, "Also, vampires cannot get sick, but I can. The only medicine I require, however, is a warm drink of blood."

"Have you--?"

"There are only two ways to get fresh blood," I interrupted, knowing where her question was leading, "One is to visit the Red Cross. The other is to open a vein. I prefer my blood warm, so…yes, I've killed; more than I can count."

Rei was silent. She seemed almost…horrified. That clinched it for me. This girl had been raised by humans, as a human for far too long! I was going to take it upon myself to put her in touch with her darker side. She would know of her abilities, limited though they doubtlessly were. She was probably no more extraordinary than the most exceptional human, but I would work to make sure she became so.

"Rei," I said, "Have you ever felt like you were…different…from everyone else around you?"

"How so?"

"Oh, any way, really," I replied, trying to sound nonchalant, "Have you ever felt…stronger…more agile, maybe?"

"No," she answered, "All I've ever really had was a bit of a complex about my hair, eye and skin color. But, I mean, the boys have always said I look 'exotic' and they seem to think I'm attractive…"

"And why shouldn't they?" I asked seductively, making eye contact with her, "You are very attractive…"

She was entranced by my words; exactly as I meant her to be. Her cheeks flushed as she felt the desire in my words. Reaching out, I placed a gentle hand against one of her soft, flushing cheeks.

"So…beautiful…" I whispered, drawing her face gently towards mine. An inch before our lips made contact, I released her.

"Wha--?" she stammered, "Wh…what were we about to do?"

"You were about to let me kiss you."

"But…why?" Rei wondered weakly.

"Because it's what I wanted you to do," I answered, "Vampires and dhampir, have the ability to influence the thoughts and actions of whoever they choose to focus on. My abilities are limited to the scope of instilling or increasing lust and arousal in a female target. Like so."

I stared deeply into Rei's eyes again, concentrating hard. I heard a soft moan escape from her lips as my hypnotism took effect. I smiled at her and upped the psychic "voltage".

"Oh, god…" Rei moaned huskily, "How…how can you be doing this? Oh…god…oh, please just let me cum!"

I chuckled wickedly and ceased my hypnotic assault. Rei was left gasping and sweaty. My sensitive nose also detected the sweet aroma of her flower's nectar. I had definitely had an effect on her. Rei stared at me. For a moment, her hard stare made me think that she might even attack me. However, this stare rapidly changed to a quizzical, curious look.

"Why?" she asked quietly, "Why are you showing me these…powers? Why are you doing this?"

"Because, Rei," I replied, "I have reason to think that you have these powers, too. I feel, very strongly, that you and I are very much the same."

"You mean…I'm a dhampir like you?"

"Exactly," I replied emphatically.

There was a pause.

"No."

"Deny it if you want to, Rei," I said, "The signs are unmistakable. The strongest indicator is our mind-link. Humans just can't do that. You may not feel the thirst, and your physical strengths may not equal a vampire's or even mine, but you have the vampire telepathy, and I'm almost certain that you are capable of some form of vampire hypnotism."

"What makes you so sure?"

"Because all children of vampire blood, no matter how weakened it is, have some capacity for hypnotism," I explained, "Like mine, for instance. It's weak and limited to a very narrow scope, but with training and experience in that scope, I've made it focused and powerful. All we have to do is find your scope, and we can make it just as powerful."

"But…if I'm like you, why wouldn't my parents tell me about it?" Rei asked, confused and plaintive.

"Maybe they didn't think your blood was strong enough to make it worth the time of explaining everything," I suggested, "Most of the time, vampires and dhampir can sense one another. I couldn't immediately sense you, but the more I've focused on you, the more it stands out. Rei, I know what you are… and what you're capable of; better, perhaps, than even you know yourself. Let me train you, Rei. Let me mold you into a true creature of the night, as you were born to be."

"But what if I'm not what you think I am?" Rei protested, "What if you're wrong about me?"

"What if I'm not?" I countered, "Why is it so hard for you to believe, Rei? You've got power, and so much potential. You could be so much more than what you've been raised to be."

"I don't…know how to answer you, Andrew," Rei said hesitantly, "This just threw my entire world into total chaos. I…I need time to think about this."

"I'll meet you here at sunset tomorrow," I replied levelly, "Have an answer for me then."

With that, I turned and left the grotto, leaving a confused and hurt girl in my wake.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter III

Twenty-four hours later, I arrived at the grotto and waited. Sunset came…and passed; no Rei. Frustrated, upset, and…actually a little heartbroken, I decided to head out to the suburbs that I had been warned to avoid. However, given who had warned me to avoid those suburbs, I didn't feel that it was much of a risk. I had tangled with tougher werewolves than him in my life. He caught me by surprise; that was all. I wasn't sure quite why I felt so compelled to go there, but I'd figure out that little puzzle when I arrived.

Cautiously, I prowled through the cul-de-sac. I didn't encounter anyone. Coming to the werewolf's dwelling, I relied on my ears and nose to warn me of danger. I couldn't hear anything, and the only scents around were almost a day old. They were gone, and I hadn't a clue where they had gone.

_Wait_, I thought, _Wait just a __minute__. There's an envelope here._

And so there was. The envelope was quickly and cleverly hidden under the edge of the doormat. Someone had left it in a hurry; probably on their way out. It was marked with an "A" and had Rei's scent on it. It was definitely for me.

"_A—_

_Sorry I couldn't meet you. Shinji got it in his head to start hunting down the rest of the Council. We're heading across the Pacific by way of the Bering Sea into Russia. Find us or track us somehow._

_--R"_

My mind-link with Rei was cold. I would have to try and re-establish it. Keeping the note, I picked the lock on the front door and snuck into the werewolf's house once again.

_I need something that will tell me which way…Shinji, was it? Yeah. Which direction are they going and hopefully their final destination._

Where to begin my search; that was the problem. This trip could have been planned out several days ahead of their departure, and probably was. It would have had to have been. Even so, a few days' planning didn't seem nearly sufficient to take down a global operation like the Council of Moonwatchers.

It was my experience that whatever room in the house functioned as an office would be the best place to begin searching for information. The office I found was fairly jumbled and disorganized. It contained several file cabinets and bookshelves. For the most part, the shelves were unused, save for a couple of stacks of CD-ROM disks. The remainder of what probably should have been on the shelves sat in piles on the floor flanking the computer desk. Ignoring the piles on the floor, I picked up one of the stacks of the CDs. The labels read with such things as: "B&C Plumbing Ledger", "Dave Smith 1040 & W2", and "Client lists". One of the three people in this house was an accountant. Rei seemed like a smart girl, but she really didn't strike me as a number-cruncher. That left this Shinji or the other woman in the house. Further investigation seemed warranted.

I climbed the stairs to the bedroom level. Again, I stalked the plush hall to the bedroom where I had rescued the woman. I pulled open the closet and the dresser. Her undergarments were styled mostly to arouse a man's lust. For a moment, my mind entertained a fantasy of seeing Rei modeling those tiny articles of clothing for me. I shook my head vigorously.

_Come on_, I chided, _you're __this__ old and __still__ having such adolescent fantasies? Get your head on straight…_

I left the dresser and examined the contents of the closet. Most of what I found hanging up was business-style skirt suits. Judging by the sheer number of said skirt suits, combined with the feminine style of handwriting on the CD-ROM labels and the werewolf's very non-business attitude, I could only conclude that the resident accountant was the other woman in the house. I didn't know her name…yet…but it hardly mattered.

_I'm losing time_, I reminded myself, _I have to track them down soon, or I risk __losing__ her—__them__! I risk losing __them__!_

Why was I suddenly so fixated on this one, mostly-human girl? I felt…frantic…excitable; things I hadn't felt in over a century and a half! All I knew was that I had to find her! I dove back down the stairs and started effectively tearing apart the office, searching for clues. When I couldn't find any, I sat down to re-think things. I pulled Rei's note out of my coat pocket.

"_Shinji got it in his head…"_

_Shinji_, I thought, _He's__ the mastermind behind this whole trip. __He'll__ have all the notes and plans in __his__ room!_

I bolted back up the stairs and into the room adjoining the balcony. It stank of wolf and…sex in that room. I could tell that the bulk of the "activity" that took place happened in this room. Holding down my bile, I began to search.

_Ok_, I thought, _if I were __him__, where would I keep notes and travel plans? I'd probably do them on a computer._

There was a computer in the office, this I knew. The only difficulty with that option was that it was more than likely password protected. I knew how to hack computers, but it took time, and time was definitely not on my side. However, I really didn't see what choice I had. I needed to know. They had to be found.

I descended to the office once more and seated myself in front of the computer. I powered on the terminal and watched the screen boot up. When it reached the login screen, I entered hacker's code into the username and password slots. Then, I watched the screen flash from blue to black several times as the worm I had injected took over. A minute later, the screen booted up to the computer's desktop.

_Just like clockwork,_ I thought with satisfaction.

I started scanning through folders and files as quickly as my eyes could take them in. I read in-depth when I came to a file that read "names of High Council". The file was in Shinji's personal folder. He had done research on the Moonwatchers; some time ago, too, judging by the original time-stamp on the file.

_This is good,_ I thought, actually impressed by his effort, _This is __really__ good. He's got names, locations, even __addresses__ here. If I arrange this list by country, and set up all of the names between here and Russia by way of Europe…_

I punched a few keys, organizing the spreadsheet.

_Ah ha…__that's__ who he's after first,_ I thought triumphantly, _Grigori Bahtyachev, age 59, location…Arkhangelsk, Russia. He's one of the founders of the Council. The boy's getting in over his head. Such an important Council figure will doubtlessly be well-guarded by hunters who are trained to handle even __multiple__ werewolves attacking in concert. Even if he has a ninja's stealth as his ally, he is far out-matched. If they're going to have __any__ hope of coming home alive, they're going to need my help on this, without a doubt._

What I did doubt, however, was the werewolf's willingness to accept my help in the matter. He just didn't seem to like me very much, but that was okay with me. I didn't like him very much, either. And, to be brutally honest, I didn't care one way or the other if he lived or died. I was looking out for the welfare of Rei. She was special to me. Hell…I loved her. Love was a pretty foreign concept to me. Mother never really loved me that much. I doubted that she was capable. Dad did most of the raising where I was concerned. He loved me, he nurtured me, and he taught me what it meant to be a man. But all the while, mother filled my head with all of the vampire propaganda about how we are superior to humans in every way. That being said, I never formed any kind of relationships with humans, even though I really wanted to. I knew that I would eventually have to say goodbye to them, just like I had to say goodbye to my dad.

But I loved this girl. I would follow her to the ends of the earth and beyond. She was special to me, and that meant far more than physical attraction. I had had more than my fair share of lovers through the decades and centuries, but I had never actually loved any of them. They grew boring after a couple of weeks, and then I was on my own again.

I shut down the computer terminal and powered it off. The worm would self-destruct and leave no traces that I had ever been on the computer. I locked the door and left the house. I still had about seven hours of night left; plenty of time to charter a clandestine airlift to Russia. I pulled out my cell phone and dialed a small air freight company that I knew of. After that, it was a matter of sneaking my way onto a plane on its way out of the country; easy as pie. I had done it on more than a dozen different occasions during my life.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get a flight into Arkhangelsk. I found that the closest delivery site I could reach in Russia was a gulag on the Kara Sea coast. That meant I would have to cross over 600 miles of Arctic wasteland and tundra.

_Well, no time like the present._

I sat in my crate on the plane an hour later waiting in meditation. The freezing temperatures ahead wouldn't bother me. Thank god for vampire invulnerability. I had to figure out a way to cross that distance with speed. I had to beat or meet the trio to Arkhangelsk. They wouldn't stand a chance without help from an experienced killer like me. Deepening my meditation, I tried again to reach out to Rei and touch minds with her.

…Nothing. Confused, I tried harder.

…Again, nothing.

I realized that I was pushing too hard, and that the last time Rei and I had mind-linked, it had happened naturally. I relaxed and just focused all of my being on her. I needed something tangible to remind me of her. I took her note out of my pocket and brought it up to my nose. Her gentle scent filled my nostrils and overtook my mind. I saw her floating before my eyes once again.

_I see you, Rei, _I thought to the phantom, _I see you, and I'm coming after you, but I need to see where you are __now__._

Images flashed in my head. The trio sat at an airport terminal, currently laid up in an Alaskan snow storm. Shinji grumbled impatiently in the seat behind her. A man lying on the floor next to her snored loudly as he slept through the whole ordeal. The other woman sat next to Shinji, trying to keep him calm. I got another feeling from Rei. They might be laid up there for several hours. That would give me plenty of time to get on the ground, out of my crate, and started across the wilderness.

A sudden thought struck me. Why couldn't I just abandon ship before reaching my destination? The fall wouldn't really hurt me, and I had the possibility of shaving off precious time from my schedule. The only slight difficulty would come in trying to get to the door unnoticed. As soon as I opened the door, alarms would go off, and they would have to get to a lower altitude. By then, I would be in freefall and on my way into Russia.

Carefully, I cracked open the top of my crate and stood up. I was grateful for the change in position, but I didn't relax. I climbed out of my box and ducked behind another stack of crates. The cargo hold where I now resided was separated from the cockpit by a door, but the door had a window. I picked my way backwards through the hold. I knew that the plane had a main cargo door that opened down into a ramp. That was how the stuff got loaded and unloaded. What I hoped I'd find was a smaller door for crew and or workers to get in and out without having to drop the entire ramp.

I laughed quietly when I found the emergency exit, and with it, the emergency parachutes. I could have taken one of them, but that would have given my presence away. I popped the door open. Immediately, red lights began flashing and air rushed around in the cabin. The plane was already dropping altitude. I leaped out into oblivion and felt the air buffer me. From my new vantage point outside the plane, I witnessed one of the pilots pulling the door closed. They would probably pass the incident off as "faulty equipment".

A minute later, I crashed into the ground. Being a dhampir had its good points, and this was definitely one of them. I was very hard to injure internally. I might take wounds from blades and bullets, but my bones didn't easily break, and I didn't bruise. The impact wasn't pleasant by any means, but it didn't really hurt me. I stood up, lurched slightly from the jarring impact, dusted myself off, and then looked skyward to get my bearings. Thankfully, it was a clear evening and the stars were starting to come out. I needed to move westward towards Arkhangelsk. Finding my bearings, I took off at a marathon jog.

I ran through the night, not bothering to stop for anything. Approaching dawn, I came to a small town. I found shelter in a pub. The locals looked at me slightly askance for the strangeness of my clothing style in relation to their own. One man even looked at me and asked in Russian:

"Разве Вы не холод там?" (Aren't you cold out there?)

"Северная Сибирь более холодна чем здесь" (Northern Siberia is colder than here), I replied in the same tongue.

"Вы говорите на русском языке?" (You speak Russian?)

"да." (Yes), I replied.

I did speak fluent Russian; and fluent German, French, Gaelic, Latin, Italian, and Mandarin. I had been alive for so long that I needed something to stay occupied, so I decided to master the most difficult languages that I could study. I sat down at the bar. The bar maid, a very attractive and buxom brunette smiled at me and asked:

"You speak English?"

"Yes, very well," I replied, "as do you."

"I learn from tourists," she replied, "I am still not good as you."

"You make more sense than some people I've known whose native language is English," I replied, my voice friendly, "How about a glass of vodka?"

"For you, the very best we have," she replied with a sexy smile. She was attempting to turn on the charm. To someone who had forgotten more about the game of seduction than most humans would ever learn, her charm was luke-warm at best. I concentrated on her as she turned her back to me, exercising my powers of hypnotism. I watched her shudder at the liquor bottles as the lust overtook her. The bare skin on her back flushed from pale to pink in a matter of seconds. When she turned back to face me, I made eye contact and amped up the effects. Her pupils dilated and then contracted. Through her tight bodice, I watched her nipples harden to the point where they might have poked holes through the fabric.

"For you," she whispered hoarsely, "no charge. Drink is on house."

"You're very kind," I smiled. Then, with a final push, I made her cum. She leaned heavily against the bar, suddenly panting very hard.

"Are you all right?" I asked, feigning concern to see what lie she would concoct.

"Yes," she replied faintly, "Just felt…faint. Long night. My shift is over soon. Can we meet?"

"I'm sorry," I said, "I have to get back on the road. I'm trying to get to Arkhangelsk."

"You are meeting someone there?"

"That's right," I said, "We're going hunting."

"Tiger or bear?" the bar-maid asked.

"Whatever we find, I guess," I lied, "Thank you for the vodka."

The bar-maid smiled at me as I stood up from the bar. Taking my vodka, I walked over to a table in a shaded corner of the bar and sat down to sip and meditate. It was very good vodka. It went down smoothly, and didn't leave too unpleasant of an aftertaste. As I meditated, I touched minds with Rei again, checking her progress. She and the other two were in the air on their way to Arkhangelsk. The snowstorm had lasted for most of the night, but they were due to land in Arkhangelsk by sunrise the next day

I waited out most of the day in that pub, watching people come and go. When the clock on the wall read 3:00, it was starting to get less bright outside. I estimated less than an hour before sunset. I stood up and walked out into the street. Catching the attention of one of the townspeople, I asked:

"Какой путь к Архангельску?" (Which way to Arkhangelsk?)

"Это - тот путь," (It's that way), the man replied, pointing down the road.

"Спасибо," (thank you) I said, and ran off down the road in the direction he was pointing.

_I'm not going to reach Arkhangelsk before they do. I can only hope that I'll be able to find them once I get there and that I'm not too late to help._

Going at a full run non-stop for about two hours, I estimated that I had gone about forty miles. It wasn't looking good for my time schedule, as the road was out in the middle of nowhere. I knew I would be badly exposed when the sun came up in a few hours. I heard a pick-up truck approaching from behind me. It slowed down next to me and a man leaned out the window.

"Эй! Как далеко это к Архангельску?" (Hey! How far is it to Arkhangelsk?) I asked.

"Приблизительно 900 километров," (About 900 kilometers) he replied, "Вы нуждаетесь в поездке?" (Do you need a ride?)

"Я не буду говорить не, если Вы будете предлагать тот," (I won't say no to one if you're offering) I panted. Sure, I really wasn't tired, but a truck could drive a whole lot faster than I could run. It would save me a whole lot of time.

"Подъем в," (Climb in) the driver said, beginning to slow down.

"Не замедляйтесь, только продолжайте двигаться," (Don't slow down, just keep driving) I said. Then, as he began to accelerate again, I grabbed the side of his truck and hurdled up into the truck bed.

"Спасибо за поездку!" (Thanks for the ride!) I shouted over the wind.

"Это не никакая неприятность вообще," (It's no trouble at all) the man replied, "Хотели бы Вы входить здесь, где это более тепло?" (Would you like to come in here where it's warmer?)

"Нет, спасибо," (No thanks) I replied, "Холод не беспокоит меня." (Cold doesn't bother me.)

Very few other words passed between us for the remainder of the night. 900 kilometers is a little less than 560 miles, so a little before dawn I was awakened by the driver pounding on the roof of his truck. I couldn't believe that I had actually nodded off.

"Эй, мы почти к Архангельску, незнакомцу," (Hey, we're almost to Arkhangelsk, stranger) he shouted out the window.

"Освободите меня на краю города," (Let me out at the edge of town) I replied, "и еще раз спасибо за поездку." (and thanks again for the ride)

The truck stopped about a mile out of town. I hopped out of the bed and shook the driver's proffered hand. He and I exchanged friendly smiles, and then he drove the rest of the way into the city. I jogged into town a few minutes later and sought shelter in a local brothel. I just sat in the main lobby area, saying that I needed to take a break from the cold for a while. Anyone I said that to just smiled and agreed that it was a very cold morning, even for this time of year. One young woman offered let me wrap up in her blankets in her room for a while if I needed to warm up. Politely, I refused, but thanked her kindly. Even when I wasn't actively engaging my hypnosis, women seemed to find me irresistible. I use this to my advantage shamelessly on occasion, when I feel the urge to manipulate people to achieve my desires or designs.

Sitting in the lobby, I reached out to touch minds with Rei again. They were just disembarking from the airport in Arkhangelsk a few miles up the road. They had booked a room at a hotel in the city and would be heading there within an hour or so, after they finished claiming baggage and wading through terminal traffic. I gathered my strength and ventured out into the day-lit streets.

The sun stung my eyes immediately and I donned a pair of mirrored sunglasses that I carry with me. Without my hat to protect my face, I had only an hour that I could last unprotected in the sun. After that, the burning would become irreparable and lethal. I needed to stay in the shadows as much as possible. I walked under overhanging roofs and balconies, staying out of the brightening sun where I could. Every twenty minutes or so, I would stop under an overhang or balcony and give myself time to recuperate.

I felt Rei's presence nearby. She and her group were within two hundred yards of my position. I got an image across our mind-link. It was the name of the hotel they were staying at. I stopped at a payphone and called the hotel. A short while later, I hung up. I had reserved a room for myself on the floor above Rei. From that vantage point, I would be able to listen through the floors and watch across our mind-link and follow their plans. I entered the hotel and checked myself into my room. It was far from the richest place I had ever hung my hat, but it wasn't a god-forsaken rat-hole like some places I had lived, either. It was somewhere in the middle; just like me.

Rei sent me images of the hotel's restaurant where they were eating an early lunch. I hastened down and settled into a booth not too far from them. My heart jumped slightly at seeing her again, but I made sure to keep quiet and keep my distance from the group. I couldn't risk the werewolf making a scene in so public a place. Once I was seated and assured that they hadn't seen me, I sent Rei an image of my view of her from my seat. I saw her glance in my direction and winked at her. To her credit, she stayed very calm and seemed to not react to me. However, I sensed her feelings at seeing me again. They closely mimicked my own. She was happy to see me. She was also afraid of what might happen in the coming days.

I sat there for the hour or so that the group sat there. Then, I tailed them back to the lobby and actually rode the elevator with them without them realizing it was me. Rei knew, of course, but she kept silent and didn't look towards me. If the werewolf smelled me, he made no sign of it. They brushed past me when we came to their floor. Quickly, I slipped a note into Rei's coat pocket that I had scribbled on a napkin at the restaurant. I told her to meet me on the hotel's roof an hour after sunset.

In my room a little while later, I caught an image of Rei looking at the note. I sensed her feelings of apprehension about meeting me. She wasn't sure whether she would be able to get away from Shinji and his woman and she wasn't sure how she would react when she met me face-to-face again. I drew the blinds on my windows, took off my coat and gun holsters and settled down on my mattress to wait for sundown. I dozed, half-asleep and half-awake for the entire day. I never really sleep, I just sink to that half-awake level and let myself relax.

My body sensed the change from day to night and roused itself. I donned my coat and guns and headed for the stairwells. Up on the roof, I waited for an hour. This time, I was not stood up. Rei emerged from the stairwell door and looked at me from across the roof. The gap between us vanished as she glided across the roof to me.

"You found me," she whispered, her voice muted by readable excitement.

"I beat you all here," I replied, my voice a calm rumble, "I was waiting for you. Now, do you know what your situation is?"

"Pretty grim," Rei replied, "Shinji knows where this guy is and how to find him, but what he doesn't know is how well-guarded this guy's going to be. I don't know either. None of us do."

"Take my word for it, he's going to be very well-guarded," I cautioned, "As a founding father of the Council, Grigori Bahtyachev will be closely guarded for his knowledge and wisdom. He will have elite guards trained in the absolute elimination of werewolves like your boyfriend."

"Shinji's not my boyfriend," Rei replied, "He and Misato are actually a couple. I'm just a mutual friend…"

But her memories leaked across the mind-link. She shared a threesome or two with the couple on at least one occasion.

"Oh, damn it," she grumbled, "I wish I hadn't shown you those thoughts. You probably think I'm slutty or something now."

"Not really," I answered, "Do you care about them?"

"Very much," she replied.

"Then there is very little to be sorry for," I said, "You and I are not beholden to one another. Now, what does Shinji plan to do to get in and eliminate Bahtyachev?"

"I think he's planning on making a diversion while I sneak in and eliminate the target," Rei answered, "After all, I'm the one who was trained as a ninja. He's got lots of brute strength but very little stealth, you know."

"Yes, I'm well aware of that," I replied.

"You don't like him, do you?"

"Why should I?" I asked, "He tackled me and grabbed me by the throat. Our two races, vampire and werewolf, have hated each other since the dawn of time. We kill each other all the time. Vampires use silver, werewolves just bite us. Their venom turns us to dust."

"I know," Rei said, "I've watched it happen."

"Shinji has killed vampires?"

"Just one," she replied, "We're actually friends with two others."

"Who?" I inquired.

"They run a detective agency in downtown LA," Rei answered, "The one's name is Spike."

The name struck me hard in the memory. But then Rei gave me the other name.

"The other's name is Angel."

"It can't be…" I muttered, "Angel…did this 'Angel' have a handsome face and a soul?"

"…Yes," Rei replied slowly, "Why do you ask?"

"Ha HA!" I laughed triumphantly, "After all these many, many years! Angelus, I've found you at last!"

**A.N.: Hmm....it seems that Andrew and Angel have some history together. And yes, loyal readers, the Russian text is authentic (at least, as near as I can figure). The translation site was very helpful. I promise that this is the last time you'll have to look at Russian syrillic text in this story (probably). For now, wishing you good health and good times!**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter IV

I laughed heartily at my discovery for long minutes. I hadn't laughed that hard in a long, long time.

"Angelus?" Rei asked, now thoroughly confused, "I thought his name was Angel."

"Oh, it is; now," I agreed, "He has a soul now. However, back when I was young, he was known as Angelus. He was the 'demon with the face of an angel'. I'll tell you what, he had a creative flair for death and mayhem; both he and his sire, Darla. He didn't have a soul then. Some years, and many slaughters later, a group of gypsies cursed him with a soul as a means of penance for all of his so-called atrocities."

"You know an awful lot about him," Rei observed.

"The story of Angelus is a vampire legend," I replied, "Every vampire or dhampir child knows the story of the terrible Angelus. He was known to even kill other vampires. Mother always threatened me and other young vampires with stories of Angelus' terrible wrath and vengefulness whenever we would get rambunctious."

"How could Angel and this Angelus be the same person?" Rei wondered, "Angel is such a wonderful, heroic person. He helped us save Shinji after he got captured by the Council a week or so ago. Spike, too; he's an arrogant ass, but he's a genuine kind of guy, if a little bit dumb."

"Well, he hasn't changed much then," I remarked with a smirk, "Spike used to be known as William the Bloody. He was Angelus' grand-spawn. The two of them were a horrendous force when they worked together. Their combined appetite for death and destruction was almost as much a legend as was Angelus, himself. But you say that William is being a helpful vampire now, like Angelus?"

"Yeah," said Rei, "Spike has a soul, too, I guess. At least, that's what their friend, Illyria told us. He went through some kind of trial to win his soul. I think he might have done it for a girl."

"How cute," I scoffed, "William the Bloody, caught up in puppy love."

"You've never been in love?" Rei asked.

"Not that I can remember," I lied, "And I can remember quite a lot about my life."

It wasn't quite a lie, I realized; but it wasn't quite the truth, either. I had never been in love in my whole life up until I had met Rei and been in touch with her. Now, suddenly, I felt like a young stag at the first green of springtime. My blood raced with fire and my mind glowed with desire for her. I carefully guarded my true feelings, however, lest they leak across the mind-link and spoil my surprise or chances.

"You're two hundred years old, and you've never been in love?" Rei asked again, "Somehow I find that incredibly hard to believe. Everybody's been in love at some point in their life."

"Not me," I said again, "Mother saw to it that I learned to hate and distrust humans. Because of that, I developed a distrust of vampires, as well; my own kind, for god's sake! Well, you can imagine what a distrust of that magnitude will do to someone over a couple of centuries. I quickly became a loner and learned to be perfectly happy alone. All I needed was me and whatever I found to pass the time. I guess that explains why I became fluent in eight languages. I was bored and needed things to keep my brain busy."

"You're not still…you know…?"

Rei couldn't go any further, but I knew what she was asking.

"No, I'm not a virgin," I chuckled, "But the women I've possessed…I never really loved them. I never knew how… Why am I getting all misty-eyed about this with you? Never mind. Scratch that; rhetorical question. Back to the real subject at hand. How are you going to get close enough to the target to take him out and still be able to get out alive?"

"I don't know," Rei replied, "Andrew…I'm scared about this. I don't want anyone to die trying to do this."

"Well, I think your werewolf friend is going to be able to take care of himself," I replied consolingly, "I don't know about the other woman, though. Is she capable of fighting like this?"

"Misato's a strong woman," said Rei, "but I don't think she's ever been in a war-zone like this is probably going to turn into. I think Shinji will leave her here, out of harm's way, and then come back to her for care and moral support. She only insisted on coming along because he was leaving again."

"Again?"

Rei went on to tell me a story about how Shinji had gotten in an argument with this Misato woman and had left in an angry huff. He ended up being gone for seven months. While he was gone, he had travelled across most of Europe and parts of Western Asia, looking for clues to his heritage and lineage, and avoiding Council assassins. Apparently, he bore a large scar on his back from an ambush that he had been less successful at avoiding. All in all, he was very naïve until his trip, and came back a much harder, darker young man.

_Well, all young men eventually have those life-darkening experiences,_ I thought after hearing Rei's story, _I, myself, was born __into__ a life-darkening experience. However, his emotional instability might prove to be a hamper to his abilities to properly plan and execute in this venture. There are, if I remember the computer file correctly, seven members of the High Council left alive. There were ten to begin with, but three have red "X"s over them in the file photos, so I'm assuming they are deceased._

"Rei…" I started to say. Then, I stopped. I wanted to say, "Don't worry, things are going to be just fine", but I just couldn't bring myself to get her hopes falsely high.

"Yes?" she replied, staring eagerly up at me. I scrambled to think of something to talk about. Once again, the fact that I was finally feeling something was a huge shock and inconvenience for me. I was used to always knowing just what to say with cold, business-like precision of decision.

"Um…maybe…we should start working on your hypnotism and other powers a little bit?" I suggested, suddenly feeling very dumb and insecure.

"Oh…umm…ok…" she replied, sounding almost disappointed. If I read her correctly, she was hoping for something else from me.

"Unless…you'd like to just stand here and…watch the stars or something…?"

"Let's go for a walk, instead," Rei suggested, "But we're going to have to sneak back down out of the hotel…"

"No we're not," I said, "Come over here and trust me."

Rei hesitated slightly at my proffered hand. But, when I pulled her close and picked her up, she wrapped her arms around my neck and seemed to relax; that is, until I stepped to the edge of the roof. Then, she tensed right up and looked at me in alarm.

"Are you going to do what I think you're going to do?!" she demanded.

"What?" I teased, "I jumped out of an airplane at about 20,000 feet the other night when I snuck into this stinking country. Five stories down to the street isn't going to bother me one bit."

With that, I stepped off the roof and plummeted to the sidewalk below. I contacted the pavement evenly and softly, barely making a sound. I smiled at Rei, who was clinging to me, eyes squeezed tightly shut in terror. Once we were safely on the street, she looked up at me, loosened her grip, and actually smiled a little bit. I wasn't sure quite why she was smiling. Was it because she was thrilled at the jump from a five story building, or was it a smile to keep from screaming because I had terrified her? I couldn't discern.

"See?" I said, letting her feet down, "Easy."

Rei continued to cling to me for a moment, and then stepped out of my embrace. I had only been holding her loosely around the waist after setting her down on her feet, but she had still lingered in that loose hold for longer than was usual. And when she finally did walk out of my embrace, she did so by crossing in front of me and brushing against me. The scent from her hair was soft, sweet, and oh so arousing. I resisted every urge that I felt to use my hypnosis to make her feel the way I was feeling. That would have been kind of compromising as we were currently walking down the sidewalk. We walked past a seedy-looking bar, where a local tough standing on the porch started making cat-calls at Rei in his native Russian. I resisted the urge to jump on him and crush his bones. An unprovoked attack would attract too much unwanted attention, so instead, I said to him:

"леди со мной, Вы Дик. отступить." (The lady's with me, you dick. Back off.)

The obviously drunk young man called me a few not-very-nice names in Russian, and then proceeded to pitch an empty beer bottle in our direction. It would have hit Rei, but my hand shot out as she ducked and caught it mid-flight. Holding it in the direction of the drunk, I crushed the bottle in my hand, splintering glass on the ground. I felt a few shards pierce my hand, but those were small wounds that would easily heal on their own. I held up my bleeding palm, showing the drunk that I felt no pain from my actions. Unnerved, he raced back into the bar.

"You're bleeding," said Rei, looking at my hand.

"Yeah," I replied, "It's no big deal."

I picked the glass out of my skin. The wounds closed as soon as they were clean, leaving no trace, except for a few small, bloody shards of glass on the ground. Rei stared at my now flawless hand.

"Being a dhampir has its perks every once in a while," I said as she goggled at me, "I wish I could show you how much I can lift."

"How much can you lift?" Rei asked curiously.

"I don't know what my full threshold is," I replied, "But the most I've ever picked up in a dead lift was about 1,000 pounds, and that was pretty heavy for me."

"A thousand?" Rei breathed, "You can pick up a small car!"

"Yes, I can," I agreed, "Let's find somewhere a little more private."

"But I barely know you!" Rei protested, looking utterly shocked.

"I didn't mean it like that," I chuckled, finding her aghast look humorous, "I meant that we need a more private place to plan our next move. I have an idea, but it's not for street conversation. We need a back alley or a similar hideaway."

"Take your pick," said Rei, indicating all of the alleys around us.

"These are too close to populated buildings," I dismissed, "Too much risk of being heard. How well do you run?"

"Well enough to keep up with you," Rei countered.

Without another word, I took off at a high jog. Rei was hot on my heels, matching me stride for stride. I followed the streets, checking each building for signs of disuse and abandonment. As we headed towards the south side of the city, I started finding what I was looking for. I ducked into one particularly dark-looking alley and Rei followed.

"Now we can talk," I said.

"In…a second," Rei panted, "We had to have…jogged a mile…just now. You may not…need to breath…but I still do. Let me…catch…my breath."

Rei breathed deeply and slowly, replenishing her stamina with conviction. A minute later, she nodded. I spoke my mind.

"Okay, first off, you need to know that I am against this whole idea," I said.

"I'm not really thrilled with it, either," Rei replied, "But this wasn't my idea. Shinji is the one who wants revenge and retribution against the Council. I'm so worried that he'll get carried away and self-destruct on this 'mission'."

"Well, that being said, I have a few ideas about how you all can survive this little attack," I said, "But after this one, Rei, you're going to have to let me train you. We can't use the same tricks on two different targets. They'll catch on. Do you understand? After this, you're mine to train."

"Okay," Rei agreed.

"Now," I said, "I know how rambunctious your friend is, but this plan will take a few days to fully implement. I need to insinuate myself into the Councilman's guard staff. Doing that will require me to probably present the head of a werewolf, but I'm sure there are a few man-eaters in the area. No one will complain much if one of them disappears. Once I'm in, give me a day or two to learn the layout of the facility. I will do what I can about securing blue-prints and schematics for you and smuggling them out to you. That's where you'll come in Rei. I'll need your ninja stealth training to sneak in and meet me at rendezvous points to drop off the plans. That will be the most difficult and dangerous part of the whole plan; the smuggling of plans. However, it is an essential part. After we've gotten a layout of the facility and formulated an attack, I will disappear and watch over you as you move to take out your target. All I ask is that you trust me. I will protect you."

"This sounds so impossible," Rei protested.

"It would be more impossible if we tried it Shinji's way and just attempted a smash-and-grab," I rebuffed, "Planning and finesse go a lot further than sheer brute strength in most instances. Experience is the other thing that counts for the most, and I've got more life experience than all of you combined."

"I'll grant you that much," said Rei, "But…what if we find out that we're going to need more help while we're in the middle of this plan?"

"We shouldn't," I said confidently, "But, if we should; and I strongly stress 'if', contact Angelus. I'm sure he will be more than happy to answer another of your calls for help. As a matter of fact, why don't you call them in for the assault, anyway? More bodies in the diversion will make the attack more distracting and give you and me more time and chance to act. Call them in tomorrow. I will meet you up on the hotel roof again tomorrow evening again; one hour after sunset."

"Okay," Rei nodded, "But what if Shinji doesn't want to wait for a week to attack? I know him. He can be very impatient."

"Well, he'll have to temper that patience if he actually wants to succeed," I said firmly, "Rei, you have to get him to listen to you."

"I'll try," she promised, "And I'll try and get a call in to Angel and Spike. It may take them some time to get here, though."

"We only need them for the final assault on the stronghold. They've got plenty of time to get here."

"Okay…" Rei said hesitantly, "Andrew, I have something I want to ask you."

"Really?" I replied, "And what would that something be, pray tell?"

"Umm…I just…maybe it's some effects left over from your hypnosis…but…umm…"

"Yes, I'd love to have dinner with you tomorrow night," I said with a gentle smile.

"Okay!" Rei said, sounding both relieved and extremely nervous, "Umm…"

"I'll wait for you in the lobby at 7 pm tomorrow evening."

"Okay! Sounds good," Rei squeaked quickly. Then, she hurried out of the alley and headed back to the hotel.

I stared after her for a long time; long after she had disappeared from my view. Why did I feel such a connection to this girl? I continued to ponder this question in my mind; constantly, it seemed. There just seemed to be something about her, something that, in all my many years on this world, I had yet to ever encounter. It was something alien, something strange; something wonderful.

Back out on the night streets, I headed for a bar. I was in such a good mood that I needed a good brawl. I wasn't looking for trouble, just a little fight to let out some extra energy. I wasn't used to feeling this good. I usually got in fights because I was angry, not because I was happy. And I was happy; the happiest I had ever been.

I found the seediest, most disgusting bar that I could have ever hoped for and stepped boldly through the door. Most eyes in the room immediately sized me up. I'm not a large guy, but I'm no shrimp, either. Calm as the eye of a hurricane, I walked up to the bar and ordered a beer. I turned to the guy to my right, a large, burly biker-looking guy and said:

"Эй, любой когда-либо говорил Вам, что Вы пахнете как тыловой конец осла?" (Hey, has anybody ever told you that you smell like a donkey's ass?)

The brute didn't say anything. He just punched me in the nose. I laughed, stood up, and grabbed him by the collar and threw him over a nearby table. Jumping up on the bar, I shouted:

"Ваши матери - все шлюхи!" (Your mothers are all whores!)

More than two dozen large men swarmed at me. Still laughing, I let them throw me out into the street and come cascading after me. Of course, outside of the bar, I had much more room to maneuver, so none of them would really have a chance to get a hand on me unless I let them. The first two that reached me each got a kick to the head, sending them instantly into unconsciousness. The next six all tried to grab hold of me to crush my bones. I jumped straight up, coming down on top of the head of the man in the middle of the crowd. Laughing the whole time, I whirled through the air and struck down each of the men who were trying to beat me up. One man pulled a hand gun on me. He suddenly went stiff, and I heard the crackle of electricity.

"You certainly attract a lot of attention, stranger," said a man in a hooded coat. He was holding a taser-gun and spoke with a Russian accent.

"I can't help it if I might have accidently picked a fight," I lied, "You here to arrest me?"

"No," the man replied, "I am actually here to make you a very important offer. You see, your fighting style attracted my attention back in the bar. You seem to have a lot experience in fighting groups of those who are much larger than yourself, no?"

"I was a scrappy kid," I said, "got into a lot of fights on the playground, ended up against all the school bullies…"

"My employer might find a man of your talents quite useful," said the hooded stranger, "Come with me."

I followed this strange man around the corner to where a limo was parked. I had my suspicions about who was inside, since there were bound to be only a few people in the area who had the kind of money it would take to buy a stretched limousine. Arkhangelsk wasn't a poor city by any stretch, but it definitely didn't have the glitz and glamour of a larger city like St. Petersburg or Moscow. My contact motioned towards the limo and said:

"Get in."

I wasn't worried about a thing. No one in this town knew anything about me, least of all that I was a dhampir. I climbed into the open back door and out of the chilly midnight air. An older man sat there, sipping on a snifter of cognac; a very well-aged one, too, if my nose wasn't lying. He definitely had money. Cognac that fine isn't cheap.

"You are a very rude young man," the man said, taking a sip of his cognac. His voice had a thick Baltic accent. "You come to my city early today and already you are causing lots of raucous."

"You'll forgive me for not understanding your meaning," I replied cautiously, "And on the subject of being rude, I believe some introductions might be in order, don't you?"

"Your name first."

"Hildreth," I answered, "Andrew Hildreth."

"Grigori Bahtyachev," he said, "There. Introductions made. Now, perhaps you would like to be explaining why you are causing so much trouble in my city?"

"I wasn't aware that you owned this city," I remarked, "And in answer to your question, I'm trying to get someone's attention."

"Whose?"

"The Council of Moonwatchers," I answered, "I had heard that they had operatives in this city."

"The Council is worldwide," said Bahtyachev, "And as it so happens, I may be able to arrange a meeting with one of their operatives here. It will be dangerous for you, of course. You see, to even meet with the Council or one of their operatives, you must present a token of good faith."

"And that token is?"

"The head of a werewolf, freshly killed," Bahtyachev answered, "I know of one that has terrorized the populace of a nearby village for some time now. He is ruthless and bloodthirsty and has sired many pups in his many years of terror. Most of the pups have been eliminated by agents of the Council, but he has eluded them."

"And you want me to bring you his head?"

"If you do not think you can do it, I will understand," said Bahtyachev condescendingly, taking another long sip of cognac.

"I'm just curious what you think an amateur hunter can do against a creature that professionals have thus far been unable to bring down," I argued. It was only a half-truth. I was no amateur.

"Perhaps…a fresh mind might think of something that those who have been working at it for so long have missed…"

"If I kill this werewolf," I said briskly, "Where do I meet them?"

_I'll probably be meeting __you__,_ I thought, _but you don't __know__ what __I__ know…_

"After you have slain the creature, come to the Cathedral of Our Lady in the center of town," said Bahtyachev, "The building is watched by the Council's agents and sometimes used as a base for local operations."

"Done," I said in a business-like tone, "See you in a few days."

The door was opened and I was let back out onto the street. A quick walk brought me back to the hotel. I needed to relay this new development to Rei somehow, but I didn't want to alert her other companions as of yet. I scribbled a note on a napkin from the hotel's bar:

"_Rei,_

_Meet me on the roof in five minutes. There's been a development._

_Andrew_"

I stared hard at this note, trying my best to broadcast it to her over our mind-link. Then, I tore up the note and walked back outside. Checking to make sure I wasn't being watched, I sprang straight up, catching the edge of a third story window. From there, I hurdled the remaining two stories back to the roof with relative ease. A few minutes later, Rei appeared from the stairway door, looking winded and confused.

"I got here as fast as I could," she said, "What's going on?"

"Bahtyachev contacted me tonight," I said quickly, "He wants me to kill a werewolf in a nearby village and meet them in the Cathedral of Our Lady at the center of town."

"I know where that is," said Rei, "We passed that cathedral on our way over from the airport. Do you want me to tag along when you go to meet them?"

"No," I said instantly, "No, if they even suspect that I'm not there alone, the whole plan will fall apart. Follow me only as far as two blocks from the cathedral, and then we must part ways, as though I lost you as you were trying to pursue me."

"Andrew, you shouldn't go in there alone," Rei said, her tone worried, "I mean, what if they suspect what you are? They'll kill you!"

I chuckled lightly. I looked her dead in the eye and said, very seriously:

"It would take a lot more than they've got to kill me. I've got too much to live for."

"Like what?" she asked.

"My own reasons," I dodged calmly, "Maybe after I've gotten to know you a little better, I'll let you know a few of them."

"So…you're going to go through with it, then?"

"I don't see any alternative, do you?" I asked, "I mean, this will put me right into Bahtyachev's good graces. I can do this; this is the easy part. Once I'm in, that will be the challenging part; that's when the real deception begins. This is still fairly legitimate."

"Andrew, I'm worried," Rei said, her voice quivering, "What happens if you get in too deep and can't get out?"

"There's always a way out," I assured her, "I'll be fine. I'm leaving tomorrow for the village. I'll be out of communication for a day or two until I finish the hunt for the werewolf. After I've killed it, I will contact you the same way I just did tonight. When I give you a time and place to meet, be there, no matter who you have to ditch to get there. Time will be of the essence from now on."

"I understand," Rei replied. Then, she surprised me by giving me a hug.

"Be safe?" she said, looking up at me. I saw tears forming behind her crimson orbs.

"Trust me…" I replied with a gentle smile, "Now go on, before the others miss you."

"Take care…" Rei whispered before ducking back into the stairwell.

I walked over to the edge of the roof and stood, staring out at the rooftops of the city. My gaze shifted skyward, to the moon, stars, and planets. Tomorrow would be an interesting day…


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter V

The next morning, I "convinced" the hotel's gift shop cashier to give me a new, wide-brimmed hat for free. She, of course, was only too happy to oblige me, and gave me her work schedule and telephone number, as well. I flashed a charming smile as I walked out of the shop, leaving her with flushed cheeks and wet panties. Some would call my methods "ruthless" or "unethical"; I prefer to call them "effective".

Donning my sunglasses and new hat, I stepped out into the new day's light. I checked a bus map and found the location of the nearest village that fit the description that Bahtyachev gave me. My destination was not on any route, so it looked like I would be walking. No troubles; it was only about ten miles. I could cover that in two hours; or less, if I jogged most of the way. I would just have to be careful of losing my hat.

I set off towards the village. About two hours, maybe two and a half, later, I arrived, quickly stashing my weapons and ammunition in a small crevice a few hundred yards outside of town. I didn't need any advance intel to know that something was definitely terrorizing the populace of this place. There was almost nobody out on the streets, and I sensed a great sadness around the whole town. I immediately sought out the town's meeting hall. Upon arriving at the building, I felt myself being watched; probably by Council agents. I was stopped by two suited men at the door.

"I am looking for information about the werewolf that is terrorizing this town," I said in English.

"Who sent you?" one of the suits demanded.

"Grigori Bahtyachev," I replied.

"Yes," the man replied, "We were told that you would be arriving soon. Very well, we must search you for weapons before you will be allowed to enter the building."

I said nothing, but raised my arms to shoulder height. After a quick pat-down (I suspected they might) I was granted access to the meeting hall. After I was introduced to the small group gathered there, they briefed me on the situation.

"You speak English?" one man asked.

"Yes," I replied.

"Good," said he, "Now keep silent and listen closely. The werewolf we are hunting is called Moon Fang by the villagers here. His real name was Nikolai Hyetnikov, before he declared war on the Council. Now, he is merely called Beast. Beast never stays in one place very often, and he seems to be able to vanish from our traps before we are able to trip them. He is a cunning animal, one which we have thus far been unable to kill. He has killed twenty of our hunters during our efforts to neutralize him."

"And now Bahtyachev has asked an amateur to step in and try to do our jobs for us," spat a second man, "We should just kill you now. However, we do need the help, even if you'll just get in real hunters' ways."

I resisted the urge to pummel him; verbally or otherwise.

"Gentlemen," I said, "give me one day to track and study this animal, and I swear to you that I will bring you his head before dawn of the second day."

Laughter rang out in the chamber. They really didn't believe me. Well, I'd just have to show them that I could follow through on my promises. I turned around and exited the building. I made sure no one was tailing me. Then, I made my way back to where I had stashed my weapons. Once I was armed, I started patrolling the out-skirts of town, looking for signs of werewolf activity.

One promising sign was a large tree that had dozens of deep, ragged gashes carved in the trunk. The size, spacing, and depth of the gashes definitely signaled "werewolf"; the claws of one, anyway. The marks were older (about a week), but they were still a promising indicator. I widened my search, using the tree as a center mark. I found animal tracks on the ground all around the area; none of them fresher than a week. However, caught in a bush, I happened to find a tuft of fur. White in coloration, it nearly blended in with the snow on the ground. The only reason I noticed it was because a puff of breeze stirred it and made it stand out. I scented it carefully.

Whoever this Nikolai was, he wore cologne. This cologne was powerful; powerful enough to show through the musk of his transformed body. It was likely a very expensive scent, and so it was likely that he either was wealthy, or had stolen enough money from his victims to be able to afford so powerful a scent. The fur was not bloody, so either it was shed from a part of his body that had not come into contact with his victims, or he took the time to groom himself. I suspected the latter, as the fur was also very lustrous and healthy-looking; not something that a rabid animal on the run would have. He had time to sit back, safely out of sight, and primp and pamper himself between kills. The Council hunters were really dropping the ball, here. However, I had his scent now. I would find him.

Clues in hand, I re-entered the village and sought out the wealthier side of town. Houses here were not mansions, but they were far from the hovels that dominated the town. I walked slowly and carefully through the neighborhood, stopping my each house to scent the area. I found three that smelled like the cologne I was tracking. I would stake them out later that night.

I found myself thinking about Rei a lot during the long hours between sunrise and sunset. Despite needing to concentrate on the hunt, my mind strayed back to the images of her that I held inside my head. Finally, though, the sun began to slip below the horizon and my mind came back to the present. I positioned myself in a treetop central to all three possible lairs and awaited the emergence of my target.

I didn't have to wait long. As soon as the sun was fully behind the hills, I heard a chilling howl. I turned in the direction from which it had come and watched a snow-white werewolf emerge from the second of the three houses.

_Gotcha…_ I thought.

But I was patient. I didn't announce my presence immediately. I allowed the werewolf to pass beneath my tree and head back towards the center of the village. I knew that Council hunters would doubtlessly try again to kill him, and probably fail again. What I was waiting for was the werewolf to return to the safety of its lair. It would find that it wasn't so safe anymore. I would be waiting for him.

I holed up in the house I had watched the werewolf emerge from. Hours passed. I heard howls and screams in the darkness. Shortly thereafter, I started to hear roars and gunshots. Some time, probably about half an hour later, the front door came bursting open. I drew both of my pistols and released the safeties. I stepped out into the hallway and looked at my target. He had his back to me, watching out the door into the street for signs of the Council's hunters.

"Hi," I said, announcing my presence.

The beast whipped around to face me, fangs bared. He saw me standing there, in my trench coat and hat, with both pistols aimed at him, and rashly decided that brute force was the best course of action. He charged me, snarling hideously. Calmly, I waited until I was certain that he could not evade, and then I squeezed both triggers. I felt the two large pistols kick in my hands. The dark house lit up like day for an instant. Then, at that same instant, I stepped back and to the side, avoiding the falling behemoth as he crashed to the floor. He writhed and thrashed, obviously in pain. I stepped over him, kicked him over onto his back, put a foot on his chest, and emptied the rest of one of my clips into his torso. After that, his struggles ceased. He was dead.

Now, I had to be quick. Werewolves will revert to their human forms one minute after death, and I needed his head still in werewolf form to present to Bahtyachev. I pulled my butterfly knife out of my coat pocket and knelt beside the dead werewolf. I began slicing and slashing at the flesh. Eventually, I was cutting through the veins, arteries, and soft tissues of the throat. My hands quickly became drenched in the creature's foul blood. Finally, I had just one more hurdle to clear: the spine. My knife wouldn't be strong enough to cut through solid bone, even with my super-strength. However, it would function as a good chisel. I positioned the point of the blade between two of the heavy spinal bones and raised my empty pistol in the other. I used the butt of my pistol's handle as a mallet and drove the knife blade between the vertebrae. I felt a satisfying slicing sensation as the steel blade severed the spinal cord and popped out the back of the spinal column. I wiggled the blade, wedging the bones apart, and the head fell free of the body. I had my trophy.

A couple of minutes later, a team of Council agents, garbed in full tactical armor and weaponry, burst into the room. I had to admire their hardware, but their timing and execution were sloppy at best. I stood up, holding the head of their dead quarry.

"Is this what you're looking for?" I asked calmly, showing them the still-transformed head.

"…Yes…" the squad's commander said, sounding embarrassed and irritated. I could easily understand why. An unknown party, a seeming amateur, had just done, in the course of one night, what they had been failing to do for probably several months at this point.

"I'll leave the clean-up to you," I said, striding coolly out of the front door. Rooting through a garbage dumpster, I found an old pillowcase that would serve as a transport sack for the head. I was back in Arkhangelsk by dawn the next morning.

I stopped at a small café and grabbed a napkin and a pencil. I scribbled a note on it:

"_I'm back. Come to the back of the hotel and follow me like we planned._"

I stared hard at the note, broadcasting my thoughts to Rei. I received an image of her, in her underwear, looking in a mirror and nodding. I wondered if she knew that I could see her body, not just her nodding head. I didn't dwell on it. I crumpled up the note, threw it away, and headed for the hotel. I spotted Rei waiting in the shadows of an alley and tipped my hat in a non-assuming way.

Sack in hand, I made for the cathedral meeting place that I had been told about by Bahtyachev. I still had time, so I was in no hurry. I made several twists and turns along my way, giving the appearance that I was trying to throw off a pursuer. Rei stuck with me until we reached a decent spot about three blocks from the cathedral where I could "shake" her.

There were no agents posted outside the doors of the gigantic church, and I did not see or smell anyone watching from any of the rooftops. The place was unguarded. The only thing I was a little leery of was the fact that the place that I was supposed to be meeting this guy was a church; holy ground; one of the places where I really felt uncomfortable, for obvious reasons. I had to be careful where I put my hands, or else the sizzling of flesh would give me away. The metal doorknobs had crosses engraved into them; right where they would come into contact with my hand. However, as I currently had my gloves on, that wasn't a concern. I opened the door and found myself staring down the barrel of a large machine gun.

"Что Вы хотите? Говорите!" (What do you want? Speak!) demanded the gunner.

"Бахтьячев послал мне," (Bahtyacheve sent me) I replied calmly, "Я имею подарок для него." (I have a gift for him)

I lifted the head sack. Blood had pooled at the bottom and was now dripping on the floor through the sack.

"Откройте это," (Open it) said the gunner, pointing at the satchel.

I shrugged and untied the sack. I reached in and slowly pulled out the white wolf's head. The guard blanched with surprise at my "gift". He recovered, sobered up, and motioned with his hand for me to enter. As I passed him, two agents stopped me and patted me down. They pulled out my pistols and ejected the clips. Once they were emptied, my pistols were returned to me.

"All right!" I said loudly, walking down the main aisle of the sanctuary, "I'm here, and I brought the head you asked for."

"Well done, boy," said Bahtyachev stepping out of the shadows, "Now show me the head."

I pulled the head back out of the sack.

"Nikolai Hyetnikov," I said, "And at the risk of insulting you, Mr. Bahtyachev, the hunters you had chasing him were bigger amateurs than they took me for. They were sloppy, unorganized, and no better at hunting this werewolf than children."

"Well," said Bahtyachev, sounding surprised, "I shall have to…speak with them; later. But for now, I congratulate you! Are you still wanting a job as a hunter?"

"I was thinking that a man of my talents would be better served as a bodyguard," I replied. I had no wish to slay more werewolves than was necessary to maintain my cover. True, I still didn't like them, and would take great pleasure in killing the ones that I did, but I was also trying to get into this Shinji's good graces so that I didn't have to hide my time with Rei and make plans without his input. I doubted his input would be much more than "go in and smash", but it would still be beneficial to have him in the loop. All it would take was a demonstration of trustworthiness on my part, something I was working on right now by getting in good standing with Bahtyachev.

"A bodyguard, eh?" Bahtyachev replied, "And just whose body would you be guarding?"

"Whoever I'm assigned to guard," I answered calmly, "I can hunt, certainly, but I'm not a chaser; I'm a waiter. I like to set bait, or stake out my target's territory and wait for them to come to me. That's how I bagged Hyetnikov. I found his lair and waited for him to return. To your hunters' credit, they chased him right to me."

"As it so happens, I have a bodyguard detail that needs filled right away," said Bahtyachev, "But it will take one of the finest marksmen in the world to make it happen."

"Let's hear it."

"A very good friend of mine, a federal minister, has been plagued by a small band of werewolf marauders," Bahtyachev explained, "He has lost his wife, two sons and a daughter to those monsters. His youngest daughter, his only remaining child, he now fears for. I have left a contingent of hunters at his residence, but every few nights, the clan attacks again, and I lose at least one man guarding her. But the wolves are getting smarter, you see? They are starting to use diversions to thin out my guard forces. The last time, only a few nights ago, they nearly claimed the daughter's life!"

"And what is it you want me to do?"

"I want you to guard her at all times," said Bahtyachev, "Do not leave her side for any reason, no matter what. That means that you will be sitting in her bedroom while she sleeps, sitting outside the bathroom as she bathes, and next to her anywhere else she goes. Do you think you can handle this?"

"I'm being assigned to babysit some rich kid?" I said, a mild note of scorn in my voice, "Suits me fine. I've had worse assignments. When do I leave?"

"Immediately," said Bahtyachev, "We have reason to believe, based on the patterns of activity by the clan, that they will attempt another attack tonight or within the next two nights. You must get yourself established and familiar with the layout of the minister's manor; and do it quickly. You must find a position where you can take the daughter and easily defend her should my hunter team fail to neutralize the attackers. You will be the final line of defense. We will provide you with whatever weapons you require to do your job more efficiently."

"I must return to my hotel room and collect my things," I said.

"My limo driver will take you."

I was shown back out front where Bahtyachev's black limo was waiting. I was driven in style back to within a block of the hotel. Not wanting to attract attention, I told the limo driver to wait for me there while I went back to collect my "things". I needed to have one more face-to-face with Rei before I really dropped off the radar. I had to reassure her that I was going to be okay, since I knew she would worry about me. I knew it because of the way she had behaved before I left on my mission to the village to bag Hyetnikov.

I followed my mental "nose" to the hotel's indoor swimming pool and gymnasium complex. Rei was there, in the pool, swimming in a semi-modest, one-piece bathing suit. I say semi-modest because, not only was the swimsuit a size or so too small for her, Rei just had absolutely voluptuous curves that the suit just couldn't contain, no matter how hard it tried. I shook my head and tried desperately to clear the lustful thoughts from my head. I succeeded only in driving them to the back of my mind; well…small victories. Shinji and his woman were nowhere to be seen.

_Good…_I thought with satisfaction. I walked over to the edge of the pool, attracting the attention of every female in the room as I moved. Rei seemed to sense my approach, climbed out of the water, and came over to me.

"What's going on?" she asked, "Something big must have happened for you to risk coming to talk face-to-face in broad daylight."

"Something big has happened," I replied, confirming her suspicions, "I'm in. He's sending me out on my first assignment in his employ tonight. I don't know how long I will be gone. I will try to expedite the mission, for your sake, but I make no promises."

"What is your mission?"

"For your protection, I can't tell you," I replied enigmatically, "I'm sorry. I don't know if they're watching."

"I understand," Rei replied, "Just…promise me you'll be okay, all right…?"

I smiled gently.

"Yeah," I said with a soft nod, "I'll be just fine. They're actually offering to provide me with weapons for this one. I'll link up with you later, okay?"

"Okay," Rei said, her voice almost a whisper; she was that worried, "Andrew, I—"

"Shh…" I hissed gently, placing a finger on her wet lips. I smiled again and shook my head gently. Drawing her close, I gave her a gentle hug. She returned this embrace with great vigor. She didn't want to let go, either.

"Hey," I said softly, "did you contact Angelus?"

"Yes," Rei whispered back, "They will be here in two days' time."

"Brief them privately of my plan, and then hang back and wait for my signal," I instructed, "Don't let them talk to Shinji about it. And if they must talk to him about it, the plan must be Angelus' idea, do you understand?"

Rei nodded.

"Good," I said, "I have to go now, Rei. The driver is waiting for me to re-emerge, and if I take too much longer, they will grow suspicious."

"Go," said Rei.

I surprised her by sneaking a gentle peck on the cheek. I left her feeling flushed with a deep rose blush that wouldn't fade for some time. I hated leading her on like that, but I felt something for her that I didn't want to end. I was deeply, deeply attracted to Rei; and that attraction was growing stronger with each passing hour. I was falling deeply in love with her, and I feared that it would be my downfall.

Back in the limo, I told the driver to take me back to the cathedral. Once there, I knocked on the door, being careful to avoid the crucifix hanging there. A soldier dressed as a priest answered the door. I knew he was a soldier and not the real deal because he smelled of gun oil. Priests don't pack heat; not even the most extreme ones.

"Ah, you return," he said, "I have been instructed to take you to armory for guns. Follow, please."

His English was terrible, but that was neither here nor there. I was led down through the basements of the church into a series of catacombs. Finally we came to a vaulted room that stank heavily of gun oil and ammunition. I was shown inside. My guide then said:

"Please take what you want. Mr. Bahtyachev wants you fully armed, ready to leave, in ten minutes. Be quick."

"Thank you," I replied politely.

Suddenly, I was a kid in a candy store. There was practically anything I could have asked for in that room! Rack after rack of pistols, shotguns, sub-machine guns, light machine guns, assault rifles, and sniper rifles adorned the walls and criss-crossed the room. Crate after crate of ammunition (all silver) and explosives awaited me. I took off my pistol holsters and walked through the room. I needed close range and long range capabilities. Bahtyachev said he wanted a top-flight marksman. Little did he know I am a perfect shot. Rarely do I miss, and when I do, I never miss a second time. My longest distance shot is nearly the elusive 1,000 yard mark.

With that in mind, I selected a Dragunov SVD sniper rifle with IR-capable scope and deployable bi-pod. I grabbed a backpack from a table and grabbed a dozen clips of ammunition for it. Next, I need my medium and short range weapons. I picked up an AK-103 assault rifle with an ACOG scope and tested the heft. It was of moderate weight, and if it was anything like the old AK-47, it would be a reliable werewolf killer. I grabbed 20 spare magazines for the rifle.

Now I needed a fall-back weapon (or two). I moved to the pistol racks. There, I saw more styles of handguns than most people would ever see in their entire lives, unless maybe they were in the trade. However, I doubted very much that all of these guns were strictly legal. There were so many to choose from, but I decided to stick with my desert eagles. I put the belts back on under my coat and holstered my sidearms. Racked with the pistols were dozens of combat knives and even a few swords. I've never been a sword-fighter, so I looked at the knives. I picked out a large, silver-edged Bowie knife with sheath and hung it on my belt. I truthfully felt like a real soldier, getting ready to go out to war. I was about as rag-tag a soldier as could be, but I was carrying a soldier's weapons.

I climbed the stairs out of the catacombs, carrying my new weapons and ammunition. Bahtyachev met me at the top of the stairs and reached out to shake my hand. I set down my AK-103 and took the proffered hand.

"I apologize for not meeting you earlier," he said, "I had to call the minister and tell him you were coming. Otherwise, you see, his security would not have allowed you onto the manor."

"I understand," I replied, trying to sound friendly and not repulsed by this old fool.

"I wish you luck, and good hunting."

"The moon will brighten my eyes and give me strength," I replied with a confident smile.

"There is a helicopter at the airfield waiting to take you to his chalet in the mountains," said Bahtyachev, "When you get there, make contact with the hunter squad first. They will then contact me and inform me of your arrival. After that, make contact with minister Vurik and his daughter, Izabella. Inform the minister of your mission and tell him that I recommended it for his daughter's protection. He will doubtlessly be hesitant to allow a male bodyguard to follow his beloved daughter everywhere she goes, but he will not refuse my suggestion. Go now. They are expecting you."

"Yes sir," I replied.

**A.N.: Hmm....and the plot thickens. What's going to happen at the minister's mountain retreat? You'll have to wait and find out, won't you? :P Ha ha! Don't worry. You shouldn't be waiting too long, folks. You have my word on that!**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter VI

A thirty-minute chopper flight later, I was fast-roping into a forest in the foothills of the Timan Ridge. I had a 10-mile hike to get to the chalet from the drop zone, and I was now carrying some new hardware. I didn't waste time, but I wasn't in any kind of hurry, either. I set an easy pace and stopped frequently to memorize landmarks and terrain features for later reference. I reached the estate shortly after sunset.

The manor was quite impressive, for a mountain retreat. Twenty-foot, stonework walls topped with razor wire created an imposing-looking perimeter. There were video cameras every fifteen feet along the top of the wall, and a guard tower at every corner. It looked as much like a gulag as a home estate. The gate to the estate was of solid, wrought-iron; probably reinforced. I was stopped a hundred feet from the gate by a bright searchlight and a green laser-dot appearing on my chest.

"Есть винтовка снайпера, обучаемая на вашей груди," (There is a sniper rifle aimed at your chest) a voice announced over a PA system, "Солидаризируйтесь себя, или Вы будете застрелены." (Identify yourself, or you will be shot)

"My name is Andrew Hildreth," I shouted back, "I am the minister's new bodyguard. Bahtyachev assigned me."

"Не двигайтесь." (Don't move)

Calmly, I waited for a team of four armed Council soldiers to emerge from the gate. They took my guns, pack and knife and escorted me up to the gate. I found myself face to face with a grizzly-looking man in his mid-forties. He had a patch over his left eye, messy, graying hair, and massive amounts of scar tissue on his face. He had survived numerous battles, I was sure. However, as I suspected that I would probably have to kill him at some point in the future, I watched how he moved. He favored his left side considerably; probably due to an old injury. He was also missing two fingers on his right hand; the ring and part of the pinkie. He saw me examining his hand.

"I lose fingers in bear trap as young boy," he said, his English broken and heavily Baltic.

"Ah," I replied, "So…are you the commander of this squad?"

"Yes," he grunted, "I am Capitan Balashnikov. I give orders, you follow."

"Yes, sir," I replied.

"If you are in my unit, you need rank," Balashnikov said briskly, "I give you non-commission rank of sergeant. You are marksman, yes?"

"I'm a fair shot."

"You carry Dragunov," said Balashnikov, "You carry sniper's weapon, I treat you as sniper. You will be positioned—"

"Capitan," I interrupted, "I wasn't sent here to be one of your hunters. I was sent by Mr. Bahtyachev to be a bodyguard to minister Vurik's daughter."

"Oh," said Balashnikov, "You are maverick."

"I beg your pardon?"

"Maverick," Balashnikov repeated, "You operate alone. You are not part of my team. We help you only out of mutual convenience. You help us for same reason."

Turning to speak into his radio set, Balashnikov said:

"Более низкое оружие. Приход является дружественным." (Lower weapons. Arrival is friendly.)

The green dot on my chest disappeared. Balashnikov motioned for me to follow him. I collected my weapons from the soldiers and followed them into the manor. I noted heavy locks on each of the doors and bars on the windows. When I asked Balashnikov about them, he replied with only:

"To keep animals at bay."

_Hmph…I wonder…_ I pondered mentally.

I was shown to an upstairs drawing room where two armed guards were stationed outside the doors. The troops nodded to me and opened the doors. Inside was an older man, maybe mid-70s, dressed in a clean evening suit. Sitting in a chair, reading a book by the room's fireplace was a younger girl, maybe in her early twenties. This could only be Izabella. She was a very pretty young lady; long, auburn hair, emerald-green eyes, finely-boned features. Her curves were quite womanly for such a seemingly young girl. At my entrance, she looked up from her book.

"You are minister Vurik?" I asked.

"I am," he replied, his voice aged but strong, "You are Mr. Hildreth?"

"Please," I said, "Andrew is enough."

"Very well, Andrew," said the minister, "I am Anton Vurik. This is my daughter, Izabella."

"A pleasure, I'm sure," I said, inclining my head politely towards her.

"Oh…thank you," she replied sweetly. Her voice was musical. I felt lust stirring in my loins. I feared that I would do something quite drastic and jeopardize my mission. Not even thoughts of Rei could take my mind away from the twin moons that were her breasts or how narrow her waist was in comparison to her hips. By personal experience, I knew that those kinds of features generally led to an increased libido, fertility, and sexual prowess in a woman.

_Why am I thinking like this?_ I thought, _I don't even __know__ her…and I'm in love with __Rei__, damn it all! At least…I __think__ I am…_

"Minister," I said, "perhaps you would be so kind as to give me a tour of your lovely home?"

I was desperate to get out of the room and try and reconcile my thoughts. However, my countenance fell slightly when Vurik replied:

"I must apologize, Andrew, but it is getting late, and I am rather old. I am not in the greatest condition to give you a worthwhile tour of my large home. I'm afraid that I would tire out too quickly, but Izabella will show you around. Won't you, darling?"

"Of course, papa," she answered, "Andrew, is it?"

"It is."

"Follow me, please," she said. Then, she stood up and glided past me and out the doors. The guards made to follow her. I held up a hand and said:

"Как Вы были. Я - новый телохранитель." (As you were. I'm her new bodyguard.)

The soldiers saluted me and returned to their posts by the door. I followed Izabella silently, allowing her to lead the way to wherever we would begin our tour. I was surprised when she took me straight upstairs to a plush-looking bedroom. This, presumably, was her room. The curtains were all drawn, and the room was quite dark. I was even more surprised when Izabella turned around, closed the door behind me, and put her arms around my neck.

"Wha--?"

"Be quiet and listen to me quickly," Izabella whispered urgently, "I do not know why you have come here, but I must ask for your help. From the way the guards reacted when you arrived, you are not a member of their soldier-squads, yes?"

"That's right," I replied, "I'm a maverick agent."

"That is good," Izabella sighed gratefully, "My father and I are being held prisoner in our own home."

"Why?" I asked.

"Because of this."

Izabella removed a necklace she was wearing and drew open one set of curtains. The moonlight streamed in on her, and I watched her transform into a werewolf. My eyes widened with shock, despite myself. The very person I was assigned to protect was the thing that I was supposedly protecting her from! Something about this situation just didn't add up.

"I should kill you," I stated, staring at her shaggy brown form and resting a tentative hand on one of my desert eagles.

She shifted back to her human form and re-donned the necklace. Of course, having transformed while fully clothed, her clothes had torn when she transformed and she was now naked. Quickly, I turned my back. However, instead of walking to her closet, I heard footsteps approaching me from behind. Soft arms wrapped around me from behind and I felt her breasts crush against my back. I allowed my arms to hang at my sides.

"Why are you doing this?" I asked.

"Because I will do anything to help my papa," Izabella replied, "They hold him hostage by keeping me under threat of death. They know about me, you see. If I lose control of my transformation; if I ever forget to wear this amulet, they will have cause to kill me. They spare me in order to keep my father from causing them political trouble."

"Ah," I replied. It was slowly starting to make sense, but something was still missing.

"Izabella, where did you obtain that amulet?" I asked, "Something like that can only be crafted by a sorcerer."

"My father made it for me," she answered, "He is an enchanter. Andrew, please. Help us."

_I thought that my assignment was clear,_ I thought, _Now, I'm beginning to see that Bahtyachev was trying to use me to keep her in line by assigning me to "guard" her at all times. There probably isn't a clan of werewolves around here at all. It was all a set-up to get me here._

"Please…" she begged again.

She stepped around me and wrapped her bare arms around my neck. Without so much as another word, she kissed me fully on the lips. I felt her tongue trying to enter my mouth. I allowed it entrance, despite my knowledge that she was trying to use her body to win my cooperation. I was feeling the urge to let off a little steam, even though I felt like I was betraying my feelings for Rei.

"How can I convince you to help us?" she asked softly, breathing right into my face.

I didn't reply; I just smirked and kissed her again. My guns were dropped to the floor. What followed can only be described as "adult material". She made love to me with the ferocity of an animal, and with stamina and vigor to match my own. Lying in bed after we were done, she curled against me and asked:

"Will you help us?"

"It will probably make Bahtyachev very unhappy with me," I said, "But…yes. I will help you and your father to escape. But understand that there cannot be anything between us after this."

"Thank you…" she mumbled. Then, she drifted off to sleep. I waited until I was sure she was in a deeper sleep. Then I extracted myself from her arms and tucked a pillow in my place.

"Sleep tight, werewolf," I murmured, "You and your father will be free soon enough."

I crept to her bathroom and turned on the sink to as hot as it would go. The mirror steamed up rapidly. Using this as a sort of chalkboard, I drew this message:

"Rei—

Bring Shinji to the foothills of the Timan Ridge. Look for my signal.

--Andrew"

I stared at the message, sending it over the mind-link. I sensed Rei's acknowledgement. They would be there in the morning. I had interrupted into a dream she had been having, and I felt sort of sorry, but I needed their help now. I would have to take Izabella with me, it was my job. However, she would have to come up with a valid excuse for wanting to leave the mansion. She was a canny girl. I was sure she would come up with something.

The next morning, Izabella awoke to find me "sleeping" in a chair on the far side of her room. Hearing her awaken, I opened my eyes and stood up. She walked to her closet and dressed in a pair of blue jeans and a sporty blouse.

"I hope those can handle a little hike in the woods," I said.

"What do you mean?"

"You need to tell your father or whoever it is that you need to tell that you are going into town to do some shopping," I explained, "They shouldn't follow us, as I will be going with you. However, as I do not trust any of them, I fully expect that they will follow us."

"Why?" Izabella asked.

"Because we are meeting someone at the base of the hills," I said, "That is all you need to know right now. I will explain more when we are away from the house."

Izabella nodded. I picked up my assault rifle and escorted her downstairs. We found Minister Vurik seated at a small breakfast table in the mansion's sun room. I stood and waited in the doorway as Izabella walked over to him and kissed him on the cheek. My super-hearing picked up her murmured revelation to her father that I was taking her to meet a potential ally. He smiled in a fatherly fashion. He understood.

"Shall we?" Izabella asked, walking past me. I nodded and followed her outside to the gates.

"Where are you taking her?" Balashnikov demanded at the gate, "She is not to leave the grounds without escort."

"And what am I?" I asked, "Cold borscht?"

"You are only bodyguard," said Balashnikov coldly, "We are trained, professional hunters. We take her wherever she goes."

"Not today," I said, staring him in his one eye.

My powers of hypnotism are strongest in the seduction of female targets, but I am also rather adept at the intimidation of male targets, as well. Balashnikov stared back at me, hard-faced and unblinking, for several seconds. Eventually, though, I watched his eye change as he quietly quailed against me. He had a strong mind, but I was victorious.

"You may take her," he grumbled. I smirked and we walked out of the gates.

"How did you get us past Balashnikov?" Izabella asked after we were a few hundred yards away from the mansion.

"The same way I so easily seduced you last night," I replied, "I employed hypnotism."

"I felt nothing."

"It wasn't active against you," I replied, "I am constantly emitting subtle hypnotic waves. It makes women inexplicably attracted to me. It's due to the fact that I am…what I am."

"And…what are you?" Izabella asked hesitantly.

"Different," I replied, "And we will leave it at that for now."

An hour later, we were at the base of the mountain. I lit a fire and covered it in damp underbrush to create a thick pillar of smoke. I hoped that Rei and Shinji would arrive swiftly.

"We haven't much time now," I murmured darkly.

"What do you mean?" Izabella asked.

"This smoke is a signal for some friends of mine," I said, "but it will also be visible from your mansion. Chances are, Balashnikov will send a squad to investigate. If they arrive before my friends do, my cover is blown and we're in trouble."

I had no doubts that I would have to kill at least some of Balashnikov's men before this whole ordeal was all said and done.

Ten wrenching minutes passed. Then, I heard footsteps approaching through the trees. I hid Izabella in a stand of shrubbery and stood my ground, waiting. I breathed an obvious sigh of relief when I saw Rei emerge from around a tree, with Shinji in tow.

"You made it," I said, "Good."

I quickly stomped out the remainder of the signal fire. Hopefully, no one else had seen it. Shinji started angrily as it dawn on him who I was.

"You!" he snarled, "What are you doing here?!"

"Helping you," I replied, "Now shut up and listen to me. I know what you're planning, and I'm already in with your target. I was assigned to 'protect' the daughter of one of his political connections, Izabella Vurik. Izabella, come on out, now."

The girl emerged from her hiding place and stood against a tree.

"She's a werewolf, isn't she?" Shinji asked.

"You can tell?"

"Our kind can sense one another," he explained, "I learned that during a long trip I took some time ago."

"Yes, your little European excursion," I said knowingly, "Rei filled me in on the details."

"You've been meeting with him?!" Shinji demanded irately, "And you didn't tell me?!"

"Back off, wolf-boy," I said firmly, "Yes, she has been my contact inside your organization. We will…discuss our own matters later. Right now, I need your help with something."

"Why should I help you?"

"Because you're not helping me," I replied smoothly, "You're going to be helping Izabella and her father. Tell him."

Izabella stepped away from the tree and started into her story. She had been a werewolf since she was about ten, when she was bitten. The Moonwatchers' Council had approached her father and demanded that he support their efforts to gain political power in the country. He, of course, refused; saying that he was not going to be a part of a radical group's dreams of global domination. Of course, they didn't take too kindly to his refusal. One night, they kidnapped Vurik's entire family and spirited them off into the wilds of Siberia. At a zoo-like facility, Vurik was strapped to a chair and forced to watch as first his wife, then his two eldest sons, and then his eldest daughter were all fed to a pack of blood-thirsty, captive werewolves. The first four were all torn limb from limb and feasted upon. Then, it was Izabella's turn. Vurik pleaded for his only remaining child's life, promising whatever aid the Council asked of him. Coldly, though, they shut her in the cage with the monster anyway. The werewolf attacked, biting her on the shoulder. Then, Council soldiers riddled the attacking animal with silver bullets, killing it and saving her from further harm. They said that she was now cursed to become what had just bitten her, and that it was their sworn duty to kill her. But, they said, if Vurik were to craft an amulet to protect her from transforming, her life would be spared, provided her transformations were never seen by human eyes. So, for the last twelve years, her father had been a prisoner of the Council, bound into service by his love for his only remaining daughter.

"Those…animals…!" Shinji snarled, his voice full of reckless hatred.

I had to admit, I agreed with him. I had seen empires rise and fall. I had witnessed dictators come and go, but I had rarely seen such cruelty as what Izabella was describing. And if what I had heard about the Council was even half true, this was just the tip of the proverbial iceberg.

"What do you want me to do?" Shinji asked, his voice now cold and level.

"I want you to help me break her father out of the Council's grasp," I replied, "After that, we're going to hit Bahtyachev at the church. That's their base, and I can guide us in. Once we're inside…the shit's gonna hit the fan."

"I'm in," Shinji smiled.

**A.N.: Okay, people...I'm busy as hell right now, so I may have to put this on a back burner for a while. I won't forget about it, but I can't work consistently at it right now. My apologies to all of my readers. Ja Ne!**


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